The Third Asakura
by xXNightly RainXx
Summary: Mayumi was always very close with her baby brother, but he hasn't seen her in three years. When they both pass through the first round of the Shaman Tournament and find each other again, will Yumi travel with Yoh and his friends? Based on the anime only.
1. Prologue

**Summary: **Mayumi Asakura was always very close with her baby brother, Yoh, but he hasn't seen her in three years. When they both pass through the first round of the Shaman Tournament and find each other again, will Yumi travel with her brother and his new friends to Dobi Village? And what will Zeke do when he finds out that he has an older sister?

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Shaman King do you really think that I would be writing this story?

_**Key:**_

"Normal Speech"

"_Spirit Speech"_

'_Thoughts'_

_Reflections/Flashbacks/Lyrics_

**Enjoy!**

It was a dark night when a young girl snuck out of her parent's home to head for the forest. "I'll get some of mommy's favorite flowers for her because I'm a big helper!" the young brunette giggled as she stooped down to grab a handful of white flowers at the edge of the forest. _"Miss Mayumi, are you sure that you should be out here in the middle of the night picking flowers?"_ a blue-gray griffin appeared next to the girl as she stood back up to head for the house. "Of course 'Ame! Mommy said that she's going to give me a baby brother so I need to give her some flowers! And I told you to call me Yumi, 'Ame!" the girl called Mayumi pouted before running back to the house. The griffin ghost sighed before following his chosen Shaman back to her family's home, just happy that the girl was going back inside where it was safe.

Yumi was walking through her house to the room her daddy had told her to come to if she wanted to see her baby brother being born when she heard her mother's cries of pain. "Mommy!" the five-year-old gasped as she ran the rest of the way to the room with 'Ame right behind her in spirit form. The sight that fell before the five-year-old's chocolate brown eyes was one that Yumi would never forget. There was a spirit holding the form of a baby boy floating above her father's burning form. "DADDY!" Mayumi screamed as she ran to her father. _"MAYUMI NO!"_ 'Ame cried as he threw himself between the fireball and the girl before it could hit her. "I see that I have an older sister, how fortunate. Be sure to take care of my other half now, I'll be needing him someday. Farewell, for now." Yumi would never forget that voice as the fire spirit and the baby disappeared from view.

"'Ame? 'Ame!" Mayumi whimpered as she crawled over to the ghost's prone form. _"I'm alright Miss Mayumi. Are you alright?"_ the griffin reassured as he got to his 'feet'. "I'm fine, and I told you to just call me Yumi. Daddy?" the little girl crawled over to her father after 'Ame's reassurance. "I'll live sweetheart. Keiko, are you alright?" Mikihisa asked his wife, who had just completed the birthing of her second son. "I'm alright Mikihisa, just exhausted and a little upset." Keiko assured her husband as she sat back up to look at her son. "Mommy, Daddy, what just happened?" Yumi asked, her voice trembling slightly. "I think that explanation can wait for another day when you will understand, Mayumi. For now we need to worry about your little brother." Yohmei told his granddaughter with a pat on her head before turning back to his daughter.

"What will you name him?" Kino asked the parents of the newly born boy who had promptly fallen asleep in his mother's arms. "We'll call him, Yoh, Yoh Asakura."

It has been one year since Yoh was born, marking his first birthday, the Asakura family is having a party for him. Mayumi has also entered her sixth year in the world and is actively exploring the forest surrounding the Asakura home with her guardian ghost, Ryoushiame, though she still calls him 'Ame. Today, Yumi has returned from yet another journey in the forest just in time to see her family gathering around her baby brother Yoh for his birthday party. "'Ame, why do Mommy and Daddy give Yoh parties like that when I don't get them anymore?" the girl asked quietly as she stood at the edge of the forest. _"Yumi, your parents are doing the same for your brother as they did for you when you were that little. Besides, Yoh needs more attention from your parents than you do right now because he can't take care of himself like you can."_ Ryoushiame answered as simply as he could. "What do you mean he can't take care of himself? And why does that mean he gets more attention than me!" Yumi asked, anger was hinting at the six-year-old's voice. _"Well, he can't exactly eat or walk without help from either of your parents, and since you can, your parents need you to do what you can on your own. By doing that you are helping them to take care of Yoh. Maybe you could give him a gift after everyone leaves today as well, I think that would make your parents very proud."_ the griffin spirit explained calmly.

Yumi looked back at the party where everyone crowded around her baby brother, who was beginning to cry. At the sound of her little brother crying, Mayumi decided that she was going to be a big helper and ran over to the house and pushed through her family to reach Yoh. "Is everything alright Keiko?" Mikihisa asked his wife, who was currently holding Yoh. "I don't know! He won't stop crying!" Yumi's mother exclaimed as she tried to calm her son. Keiko finally gave up and placed her crying son on a sleeping mat on the porch. With her brother now within reach, Mayumi walked over to the mat and sat next to her crying brother. After a moment, Yumi put one of the flowers that she had picked into his small hand. Almost immediately, the boy stopped crying and opened his chocolate brown eyes to look at the white flower in his hand then at his older sister sitting next to him, and promptly cooed. "He likes the same flowers that Mommy does! These are for you, baby brother!" Yumi exclaimed as she held up the rest of the flowers for her brother to see. The boy made excited movements as he reached out to not the flowers, but his sister herself. _"I think he wants to give you a hug Yumi."_ Ryoushiame's sudden appearance next to the six-year-old startled Yoh once more, though he only stared at the griffin ghost and cooed again.

"Go on and give your brother a hug Yumi, I think that he likes you!" Keiko encouraged her daughter with a proud smile as she came to sit on the mat next to her children. Yumi smiled big and picked her brother up to place him on her lap. Yoh gave many happy sounds as his elder sister held him on her lap. "See, he really likes you Mayumi. Would you like to help us take care of him since you're such a big girl now?" Mikihisa asked his daughter as he, too, sat upon the mat with his family. "Yay! I get to help take care of Baby Brother Yoh!" Yumi was so happy with being able to help her parents take care of her baby brother!

After that day Mayumi and Yoh were nearly inseparable, it even got to the point where at night Yoh could most often be found sleeping within the barrier of his big sister's arms. The Asakura family, at first, was awed by the sibling's closeness, though as time went on and they grew older, those outside of the sibling's intermediate family grew disgusted with the behavior. When Mikihisa and Keiko spoke to the pair about it when Mayumi was ten and Yoh five, Yumi said that the rest of the family should get their heads out of the gutter; they were close siblings and nothing more. It was also around this time that Yohmei began training Mayumi to become a Shaman, though she already had a guardian ghost, her grandfather insisted that Yumi be trained properly. The girl quickly advanced through her grandfather's training and by the time she turned fifteen there was nothing more that Yohmei could teach his grandchild. It was around this time that the memories of the night of Yoh's birth began to arise many questions and sleepless nights for Mayumi. It got to the point where she took her parents and grandparents into a private conversation about it when Yoh was off training.

"Is there something bothering you, Yumi? You don't look like you've been getting enough sleep of late." Keiko asked her daughter once the five of them were seated around the dining table. "There is something bothering me, something considering the night Yoh was born." the fifteen-year-old girl did not need to say anything more after that, the adults knew then that she had retained her memories. "Do you really wish to know, Mayumi? Once you begin to hear the story there will be no turning back, but I trust that you know that." Yohmei said softly to his granddaughter, who only held his gaze as an answer. "Then we must take this conversation elsewhere, to a place where this will all make sense to you. Come and follow me." Kino said as she stood, signaling the other four to follow her. _"I will come as well, if this is as important as you say it is then I believe that Yumi should not be the only one of us to hear it."_ Ryoushiame commented as he came into view. "Alright Ryoushiame, but neither of you must breath a word of this to Yoh, it will only make things more difficult on the boy." Mikihisa said sternly.

"You have my word, father." _"And mine as well Master Mikihisa."_

"Very well, we shall proceed." Kino said as the group continued to walk away from the house and down into a secret room that Yumi had never seen before. "What is this place?" the girl breathed in awe as she took in her surroundings. "This is the place where Zeke Asakura trained over one thousand years ago. I'm sure that you know of our great ancestor by now Mayumi." Yohmei said, earning a nod from the fifteen-year-old and her Guardian Ghost. "Good, you may also know that he mastered the five points of the unity star." Kino commented. "And what does this guy have to do with what happened ten years ago?" Mayumi asked calmly, her arms crossed across her chest while she awaited an answer.

"We were getting to that. Zeke reincarnated himself five hundred years ago, interrupted the Shaman King Tournament and made the Spirit of Fire his Guardian Ghost; he was however defeated by a Shaman of Asakura descent. Fast forward to the night that Yoh was born; Zeke reincarnated himself as his twin and the Spirit of Fire came and retrieved him so that we could not destroy him. That is what happened ten years ago, and why you and Yoh were kept in the dark about the truth; it would have put too much pressure on the both of you." Yohmei explained with a gaze that never left his granddaughter's. "I see, so Zeke is basically a 1,000 year old spirit bent on what exactly?" Yumi asked, though everyone could hear her voice waver. "Zeke is able to hear the thoughts of others; during his first life it drove him to insanity. His goal is to rid the world of humans to create a Shaman Only World because he believes that the humans are destroying the Earth and he needs the King of Spirits to do it. This is why he has come back now, with the Shaman King Tournament only three years away Zeke has most likely been gathering followers ever since he began to talk." Kino explained gravely, Mayumi closed her eyes in an attempt to make sense of everything.

"_That is horrible! I will not allow this lunatic to carry forth his plan!"_ Ryoushiame snarled angrily and began his form of pacing. "Don't worry about it 'Ame. Zeke will never fulfill his twisted plan; I'll make sure of it." Yumi stated with her emotionless voice, eyes opening in a cold gaze after she spoke. "I was hoping that you would say that Mayumi. The entire world is counting on you and Yoh to bring this evil down. It is the duty of the Asakura Family to defeat its own." Mikihisa stated as he placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "If that's the case, Ryoushiame and I will need to do some hardcore training ourselves. We'll leave the day after tomorrow to train alone; I don't want Yoh to start asking questions as to why I'm training so hard. And it would be a good thing for him to learn not to lean on me as much as he has been lately." Yumi stated before looking at the faces of her family.

"Of course, but you know that Yoh will be very upset that you are leaving." Keiko said, though there was sadness in her voice as well. "I know, that is why I'm waiting until the day after tomorrow. And I'll leave after Yoh is asleep." Mayumi's eyes saddened at the thought of leaving, but she knew that it had to be done. "Very well. I believe that it is time to return to the house, it is getting late." Yohmei broke the silence with his words before the group of Asakuras walked back to the main household. _"Miss Yumi, are you sure that you want to leave home so soon?"_ Ryoushiame asked his Shaman once they were alone in her room. "Yes, my mind is sure, and my heart and soul know what must be done, but that does not mean that I do not feel the pain and sadness that comes with abandoning my baby brother. I don't want to leave him 'Ame, but I know that he's going to have to fight alone sometime, and he needs to live without me around to sing him to sleep every day of his life. Though I do enjoy singing Yoh to sleep and will miss him dearly for the next three years." Yumi whispered sadly with her back to her Guardian Ghost. _"Three years Yumi? You're not going to see your brother for three whole years?"_ the griffin-ghost was startled to say the least at her statement.

"Yes, three years Ryoushiame. Though I am going to be keeping an eye on Yoh while he fights through the first part of the Tournament, I will let him decide his own fate and fight his own battles." Mayumi murmured in a tone that Ryoushiame knew as misery and left her to herself. _'Yoh, I'm sorry that I have to leave you so soon, but where I'm going you won't be able to follow, at least not yet. I'm going to pass through the Tunnel of Tartarus a few times, then train deep in the forests and mountains around the country, after that I'm not too sure what I'll do, but I'm sure that something will come to me.'_ Mayumi thought to herself as she packed a small knapsack. Within the pack the brown-haired girl put some money, clothes, some girlish items, and a picture of her family. _'No matter how far I travel, I will always have a home here; mother, father, grandfather and grandmother certainly made that very clear.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she sealed the pack and placed it under her bed.

The next two days went by without so much as a hitch, and soon it was time for Yumi to put Yoh to bed for the last time for the next three years. "Hey Yumi, can you sing _two_ songs for me tonight? Please!" the ten-year-old Yoh pleaded with his sister as she tucked him into bed. "Of course Yoh, which songs would you like to hear tonight?" Mayumi answered with a smile, though her baby brother missed the sadness in her eyes. "Can you sing _I'm With You_ and _Colors of the Wind_? Pretty please!" the puppy face that Yoh put on would always melt Yumi's heart. "Of course I can." the girl smiled as she ruffled her baby brother's hair and began to sing.

_I'm standin' on the bridge,__  
__I'm waitin' in the dark,__  
__I thought that you'd be here by now,__  
__There's nothing but the rain,__  
__No footsteps on the ground,__  
__I'm listening but there's no sound,_

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?_  
_Won't somebody come take me home?_  
_It's a damn cold night,_  
_I'm tryin' to figure out this life,_  
_Won't you take me by the hand?_  
_Take me somewhere new,_  
_I don't know who you are,_  
_But I'm, I'm with you,_  
_I'm with you,_  
_Hmm hmm hmm,_

_I'm looking for a place,_  
_I'm searching for a face,_  
_Is anybody here I know?_  
_'Cause nothing's going right,_  
_And everything's a mess,_  
_And no one likes to be alone,_

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?_  
_Won't somebody come take me home?_  
_It's a damn cold night,_  
_I try to figure out this life,_  
_Won't you take me by the hand?_  
_Take me somewhere new,_  
_I don't know who you are,_  
_But I'm, I'm with you,_  
_I'm with you,_  
_Yea yea,_

_Oh, why is everything so confusing?_  
_Maybe I'm just out of my mind,_  
_Yea eee yeah, yea eee yeah,_  
_Yea yee yea, yea eee yeah,yeah,_

_It's a damn cold night,_  
_Tryin' to figure out this life,_  
_Won't you take me by the hand?_  
_Take me somewhere new,_  
_I don't know who you are,_  
_But I'm, I'm with you, yea,_  
_I'm with you, yea,_

_Take me by the hand,_  
_Take me somewhere new,_  
_I don't know who you are,_  
_But I'm, I'm with you, yea,_  
_I'm with you, yea,_

_Take me by the hand,_  
_Take me somewhere new,_  
_I don't know who you are,_  
_But I'm, I'm with you, oh,_  
_I'm with you,_  
_I'm with you._

"Yay! Big Sis sings awesome!" Yoh said tiredly, Yumi could see his eyes beginning to droop already. "Why thank you Yoh, do you think that you can stay awake for the next one?" the girl teased, earning a lopsided smile from her little brother. "More please!" the boy asked, making Yumi laugh before closing her eyes and beginning once more.

_You think I'm an ignorant savage,__  
__And you've been so many places,__  
__I guess it must be so,__  
__But still I cannot see,__  
__If the savage one is me,__  
__How can there be so much that you don't know?__  
__You don't know ..._

_You think you own whatever land you land on,_  
_The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim,_  
_But I know every rock and tree and creature,_  
_Has a life, has a spirit, has a name,_

_You think the only people who are people,_  
_Are the people who look and think like you,_  
_But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger,_  
_You'll learn things you never knew you never knew,_

_Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon,_  
_Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?_  
_Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?_  
_Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?_  
_Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?_

_Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest,_  
_Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth,_  
_Come roll in all the riches all around you,_  
_And for once, never wonder what they're worth,_

_The rainstorm and the river are my brothers,_  
_The heron and the otter are my friends,_  
_And we are all connected to each other,_  
_In a circle, in a hoop that never ends,_

_How high will the sycamore grow?_  
_If you cut it down, then you'll never know,_  
_And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon,_

_For whether we are white or copper skinned,_  
_We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains,_  
_We need to paint with all the colors of the wind,_

_You can own the Earth and still,_  
_All you'll own is Earth until,_  
_You can paint with all the colors of the wind._

The girl had opened her eyes half-way through the song to see her brother fast asleep, but she finished the song anyway. "Good night Yoh; and good-bye. Grow stronger my little brother, and may we one day meet again to travel together to the second round of the Shaman Tournament in three years time. I love you, Yoh." Mayumi whispered sadly, kissing the center of her brother's forehead lightly before standing and walking out of his room.

After grabbing her knapsack, Mayumi made her way out of the main house of the Asakura family to find her parents and grandparents waiting for her. "So you truly are leaving us, Mayumi." Keiko whispered, the tears in her eyes were clear as daylight and it hurt the girl's heart. "Yes, if what you all told me is true, then Yoh and I need to be very prepared for the Shaman Tournament. If I stayed here, Yoh would never learn to trust in himself, he would just lean on me like a crutch and that would not be good for either of us. I know that none of you like it, I don't either, but I need to do this." Mayumi defended, her voice cracking and Ryoushiame appearing at her side. _"I will watch over her, of that you have my word."_ the griffin-ghost told the Asakuras. "I know you will, Ryoushiame. You have always watched my daughter and kept her safe. But now it is time that she was given a weapon to defend herself with." Mikihisa stepped forward and held a bo staff in his hands for his eldest child to take.

Mayumi grasped the five-foot-long staff and looked it over in awe. The durable, reddish-brown wood fit perfectly in her hands, etches of different plants and animals covered its entirety, and a metal spike was fitted perfectly onto one of the tips. "Thank you, father, it is a beautiful weapon and I will take good care of it." Yumi finally took her eyes off of the weapon to look at her father in thanks. "You're very welcome, Mayumi. I only hope that it will keep you safe in your times of need." Mikihisa said before taking his daughter into a hug. Keiko came over to give her daughter a hug once her husband had let her go. "Be safe my daughter. You will always have a home here." the mother's voice broke when she spoke. "I will mom, I'll be home again, don't you worry about that." the girl replied after the hug was broken. Her grandparents didn't have much to say, only that they loved her and that they would see her again in around three years. After the goodbyes, Mayumi and Ryoushiame began walking away from the Asakura Main House and waving to their family.

_And so began my journey, not to become Shaman Queen, but to make sure that my little brother, Yoh Asakura, becomes the Shaman King. Zeke had better hope that he is stronger than I will be at the Tournament, otherwise I won't hesitate to destroy him. I will not allow for a Shaman Only World to exist, and I will stand beside my baby brother Yoh until the end. __**Even if it kills me.**_

**Yes it's a little long for a prologue, but it didn't feel right to make it shorter so I left it long. Any and all reviews are welcome, just let me know what you all think of my story! So hit that magic button and review people, REVIEW!**

**~Nightly Rain**

**P.S. If anyone is interested in beta-ing this story...send me a pm and we'll talk!~ ^-^**

**List of Songs::  
**_**I'm With You**_** - Avril Lavigne  
**_**Colors of the Wind**_** - Pocahontas**


	2. Reunion

**Summary:** Mayumi Asakura was always very close with her baby brother, Yoh, but he hasn't seen her in three years. When they both pass through the first round of the Shaman Tournament and find each other again, will Yumi travel with her brother and his new friends to Dobi Village? And what will Zeke do when he finds out that he has an older sister?

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Shaman King do you really think that I would be writing this story?

_**Key:**_

"Normal Speech"

"_Spirit Speech"_

'_Thoughts'_

_Reflections/Flashbacks_

Len/Lenny Tao = Ren Tao

Morty = Manta

Trey = Horohoro

Rio = Ryu

Zeke = Hao

Joco = Chocolove

**Hey everyone, I guess that you can kind of tell that my updates are not going to be regular because my schedule changes so much, sorry but I can't promise when I'm going to update next because my schedule can change in a matter of minutes.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

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_It has been three years since I went to train with Ryoushiame. Three long years since my family has seen me face to face. I've been watching over Yoh ever since the Shaman Tournament Preliminaries started, and I'm impressed with how far he's come since I left. Tomorrow morning he's going to be leaving for Dobi Village with Rio, Trey, and Lenny so I'm going to give him the best wake-up-call in his life and hopefully Anna remembers me and I get to leave with my head. Of course 'Ame doesn't want me to do that to Yoh because Anna might kill me, but what can I say, I never was one to think twice about something! Plus I really want to meet Yoh's guardian ghost Amidamaru face to face, I need to thank him for saving my brother's life back in that cemetery. Anyway, I need to get some sleep so that I can wake-up before dawn tomorrow to surprise Yoh!_

The sun was just lighting the horizon in Tokyo, Japan when a lone female figure snuck up to the house of Yoh Asakura and Anna Kyoyama. The woman had chocolate-brown hair that was boyishly crop-cut with a feather-clip holding her red bangs out of her right eye. Her eyes were a mixture of dark brown, emerald green and bluish-grey; a strange combination that she absolutely loves to get compliments for and that attracted men to her like bees to honey. The woman wore simple clothes: a white t-shirt, jean shorts with tons of pockets, green-and-black athletic shoes, and a necklace with a single drop-shaped jewel hanging off it. She also had a small pack attached to her bo staff that was resting on the ground under the window to Yoh Asakura's room.

'_Miss Yumi, are you absolutely sure that you want to go through with this? You know that Anna may shoot and ask questions later.'_ a small blue spirit ball hovered near the woman's head as she kneeled beneath Yoh's window. The spirit had a pair of worried eyes, a small beak, and a pair of tiny wings and was fluttering around nervously as if he was going to be attacked at any given moment. "You need to loosen up 'Ame, now be quiet before you wake someone!" the woman known as Yumi hissed softly before peeking into the room that belonged to her baby brother. Her brother was a deep sleeper and would not wake up easily; Mayumi thanked the King of Spirits for that as she saw that Yoh was still asleep on his bed matt. _'Hopefully his Guardian Ghost is also a deep sleeper, otherwise this won't work.'_ the woman thought to herself as she gently slid the window open just enough for her to enter the room of her baby brother.

Mayumi smiled when she saw her baby brother's peaceful face as he slept, the warm rays of sunlight just touching his forehead. _'It's now or never!'_ the woman laughed internally before kneeling down on the ground, readying herself to wake Yoh. Faster than a normal human was capable of, the woman snatched Yoh's sleeping form up into her arms and began to swing around in a tight circle all the while screaming at the top of her lungs, "GOOD MORNING YOH!". The said boy responded by letting out a scream of his own and backed away from the 'stranger' as quickly as he could and hysterically questioned, "Who the heck are you!". "Why Yoh, is that any way to greet your elder sister?" Mayumi asked between spouts of her laughter as she sat on the floor.

It took Yoh about ten seconds to finally figure out just who was sitting in front of him. "MAYUMI!" the boy yelled in happiness, flying into the woman's outstretched arms to receive the hug that he had been missing for the last three years. "What in the name of the King of Spirits is going on here!" a rough female voice cut through the reunion that Yumi recognized vaguely. "Oh, good morning Anna!" Yoh greeted sheepishly, though he was still clinging to his sister as if she was about to disappear any second. "Who are you and what are you doing hugging **my** Yoh?" Anna asked dangerously, by this time Rio and Trey were also at the door to Yoh's room. "Well I can't say that I blame you for not remembering me, Anna, I left home around the same time that you met me and Yoh. I'm Mayumi Asakura, Yoh's elder sister." The woman smiled as she spoke to the group, noting that her brother's Guardian Ghost was also present in the room.

"WHAT! Dude you never told us you had a big sister!" Trey accused his friend. "Well that's because I didn't know if I would ever see her again. Why would I tell you of someone that you may never meet in person and only get my own hopes up?" Yoh said sheepishly, receiving a smack on the head from said sister in return. "You idiot, you know that I would never leave you forever. Ryoushiame and I just had to go out and train for a while on our own." Yumi's voice was scolding as she watched her baby brother rub the back of his head. "Well why didn't you take me along?" the boy asked with his sad face. "Because if I had taken you with me do you really think that you would be at the level that you are now? Would you have met all of the friends that you have right now? Or would you be leaning on me for support all the time? If I had continued to train with you then we would have always relied on each other and never would have leaned to survive on our own two feet. I left in the best interest of us both Yoh; if you look into your heart then you will know this to be true." The woman replied, her tone full of patience and understanding.

"Yeah, I guess that you're right. I mean, if I had gone with you I never would have had Morty, Tray, Rio, and Lenny as friends! I probably never would have met Amidamaru either." Yoh realized quickly before renewing the hug that he was giving his sister. "Yoh, you can let me go, I'm not going anywhere. Besides, you don't want to miss your flight do you?" Yumi raised her eyebrow at her baby brother as she spoke. "That's right! Don't want to keep Lenny waiting long! Knowing him he'll leave without us!" Yoh released his sister and they both stood to look at their audience. "Hold on a moment, who is this Ryoushiame character that you speak of? Is he your boyfriend perhaps?" Rio commented in his ignorance. "…No…Ryoushiame is my Guardian Ghost, I'm a shaman." Yumi replied as a sweat-drop formed on her head. "And where exactly is he then?" Anna asked in her cold-hearted way. "Oi Ryoushiame, you can come out now, Anna's not going to bite your head off." the woman commented to her Guardian Ghost before the gryphon made his appearance. _"My apologies Miss Mayumi—"_there was a loud 'whack' right after the gryphon-ghost spoke. "What do I keep telling you to _**not**_ call me 'Ame!" the woman said in anger as her Guardian Ghost recovered from her slap.

"_Sorry Yumi. I got carried away again."_ Ryoushiame apologized to his shaman before turning back to the sweat-dropping audience. _"I am Ryoushiame, Yumi's Guardian Ghost."_ the male gryphon-ghost addressed the Shaman who didn't know him after greeting Yoh and Anna. "Dude! You've got a male Guardian Ghost? But you're a chick!" Trey exclaimed while pointing his finger at Ryoushiame and Mayumi. "You're one to talk Trey Racer, last time I checked you have a female Guardian Ghost and you're a dude." Yumi commented dryly, watching as the boy's face dropped and his friends snickered. "And just how did you know about that Yumi Asakura? Have you been stalking us?" Anna questioned, bringing the room to a silence as everyone stared at the woman in question. "Well, I did say that Yoh hasn't seen me in three years. But that does not mean that I haven't checked on him every so often and it just so happens that I have been checking up on him more often ever since the Tournament started." Mayumi answered with a sigh. "So you've been stalking me!" Yoh exclaimed, looking a tad bit hurt. "No, I've been making sure that you were alright and that you weren't going to die in your next fight. Anyway, Amidamaru could I have a word with you in private while these boys pack their bags?" the woman asked the ghost before standing up and walking back over to the window, not bothering to wait for an answer.

"Hey! Are you in the tournament too Yumi?" Yoh asked before his sister could exit through the open window. "As a matter of fact, I am Yoh." the woman never bothered to turn around, merely holding up her left arm for them to see the green oracle bell. "So, how are you going to get to Dobi Village?" Tray asked, looking at the woman with a confused look. "I was planning to fly there with Ryoushiame, but that was before I decided to pay you guys a visit. If it is alright, I'd like to travel with you guys." Yumi stated, turning her head back to look at the group with an awkward smile. "Of course you can come with us! Right guys?" Yoh said before looking back at Trey and Rio. "Sure, though you should probably ask Lenny, it is his jet after all." Trey shrugged. "Either way, I'm going with you guys to the airport. If Lenny doesn't let me ride with you guys me and 'Ame will just fly alongside you." Yumi grinned before jumping out of the window. The woman grabbed her pack and bo staff before walking to the back of the house to sit and wait for Amidamaru, though it didn't take long before he appeared in front of her. _"You wanted to speak with me Miss Mayumi?"_ the ghost asked, though a tick mark appeared on the woman's forehead. "Just call me Yumi Amidamaru, I never liked being addressed formally and I don't plan on starting now. I just wanted to thank you." Yumi scolded the softened as she sat on a rock in the backyard. _"Why would you want to thank me Mi—uh, Yumi?"_ Amidamaru caught himself before he made the same slip. "I want to thank you for saving Yoh in the graveyard. If you hadn't of, then I would have been forced to reveal myself a lot sooner than I had planned and he might not have been able to enter the tournament." the woman replied softly, her eyes were sincere as she watched her baby brother's Guardian Ghost.

"_In that case, you are very welcome Yumi. I am grateful that I was able to become Yoh's Guardian Ghost because I saved him that night. And if you don't mind I have a few questions of my own before we rejoin the others." _the ghost commented. "Ask away Amidamaru, and get out here Ryoushiame!" Yumi growled at her Guardian Ghost, making him appear nearly an instant later. _"Thank you. I was wondering just exactly how strong you are now? I also wonder if there is another reason to why you left Yoh when you did."_ Amidamaru commented, Yumi sighed after he was done speaking. "You must realize that I cannot fully answer either of your questions without making you swear to secrecy until a time when I deem it otherwise? I will touch on these subjects lightly, though they are intertwined more so than you may think." the woman sighed and closed her eyes before talking again.

"Amidamaru, do you know of the Tunnel of Tartarus?" the woman asked, opening her eyes to look at the ghost. _"I have heard of it, yes, though I do not know how it works."_ the ghost answered, puzzled at the question. "The Tunnel of Tartarus is a place of complete darkness, you can't see an inch in front of your face and it takes days to make it to the other side. I went through that tunnel many times to hone my Shaman Sense and to calm my mind. I trained with Ryoushiame in ways that I would prefer to keep secret for now as well as meditating under intense waterfalls for days at a time. I left because I needed to get stronger for the Tournament in order to face someone of extreme strength. That is all that I will say on this subject and I would hope that you do not speak to Yoh or the others about our conversation." Mayumi stated. _"One last question Yumi, why did you enter the Shaman King Tournament?"_ Amidamaru asked as the woman began to stand. "That's simple question for me to answer. I entered the tournament to ensure that Yoh becomes Shaman King. I know that he is more than capable of being the champion." Yumi answered lightly as she picked her things up and began walking back to the house.

When the woman and ghosts got to the front of the house they saw the others waiting patiently for them. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go catch that plane guys!" Yumi cheered before anyone could speak. "Yeah! Dobi Village here we come!" Yoh exclaimed, throwing his fist into the air as he cheered. "Mayumi, keep an eye on the boys for me will you? They have a tendency to get into trouble when it's just them." Anna said quietly as the elder woman passed her. "That's what I'm here for Anna. And I'm not here to get in the way of Yoh becoming Shaman King; I'm here to make sure he becomes the King of Shaman." Yumi's words caught the female spirit medium off guard but she soon regained her composure and softly thanked her fiancé's elder sister who merely smiled over her shoulder in return.

_And so it begins; my new journey with my little brother and his group of friends. I can't wait to finally meet Lenny face to face! I encountered the Tao family in my travels and I want to congratulate him on defeating his uncle and becoming the head of his family. I wonder when that blasted Zeke will finally show his face? He had better stay away from Yoh; otherwise he'll get a taste of my new power. Though I won't fight him in front of Yoh just yet, I want to keep him in the dark about Zeke for as long as possible. Oh well, no use in pondering over this right now, I've got a plane to catch!_

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_

**There you have it! Chapter 2!**

**Now hit that pretty button and review people! The more reviews that I get the faster the chapters will come up!**

**~Nightly Rain**


	3. The Journey Begins

** Summary:** Mayumi Asakura was always very close with her baby brother, Yoh, but he hasn't seen her in three years. When they both pass through the first round of the Shaman Tournament and find each other again, will Yumi travel with her brother and his new friends to Dobi Village? And what will Zeke do when he finds out that he has an older sister?

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Shaman King do you really think that I would be writing this story?

**_Key:_**

"Normal Speech"; _"Spirit Speech"_; _'Thoughts'_; _Reflections/Flashbacks_

Len/Lenny Tao = Ren Tao; Morty = Manta; Trey = Horohoro; Rio = Ryu; Zeke = Hao; Joco = Chocolove

**Hey everyone, my updates are not going to be regulated because my schedule changes so much, sorry…**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Well, we're on the plane to Dobi Village. Though Lenny didn't have a problem letting me coming along after we explained everything, things got a little interesting when we were saying good-bye to Morty. What do I mean by interesting? I mean that the slimy bastard Zeke decided to show his head to the group. King of Spirits it was hard not to just attack him with everything I had! But I had to keep my cool and stand back to hold Yoh back from mindlessly attacking his unknown twin like the others. I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from screaming profanities at Zeke when he started speaking to us, to Yoh. Thankfully he left soon after, though somehow I get the feeling that he recognized me from the night that he and Yoh were born._

"Man! Who does that guy think he is talking to us like that?" Trey yelled, pacing the isle of Lenny's jet. "Sit down Trey! You're wearing a path in my jet!" Lenny growled in his on fashion of getting off the subject of Zeke. "You know what Lenny! I…I…" Trey had to pause in order to think up a good come-back. "Take your time, come-backs are difficult if you are slow." the Tao laughed along with the rest of the group. "By the way, I wanted to speak to you in private Mayumi. This way." Len stood up and walked to the rear of the plane. "You are aware that I'm way too old for you right Lenny?" Yumi snickered along with the others, making the Tao blush. "That is not why I wish to speak to you! Now get over here!" Lenny's yelling only made the group laugh harder. The woman had to wipe tears from her eyes as she walked back to talk with Lenny.

"So, what did you want to talk about Len? And please just call me Yumi; I really don't like to be called by my full name." Yumi commented once the two were in the back-most of the private jet. "I wanted to know why you didn't allow Yoh to attack that guy back there; you looked like you wanted to kill him." the question was exactly what the woman thought it would be. "Len, I can't tell you why. It's Asakura Family business, though Yoh doesn't know yet. All you need to know is that guy is incredibly strong and he needs to be stopped. I couldn't fight him back there because it would not have been in anyone's best interest. I'm sorry that I can't answer your question, I really am, it's just that I am under an oath not to say a word of it until another time." Mayumi said quietly, looking into Len's eyes the entire time that she spoke. "I see, is it really true that you have been stalking Yoh during the preliminary rounds of the tournament?" Lenny asked, meeting the elder woman's gaze with ease. "Yes, though I did not follow them into your family mansion, Len, I have more respect than that. I also wanted to congratulate you on defeating your uncle and becoming the head of the Tao Family, even though you may still be a little sour about that." Yumi commented, smiling slightly as the boy finally looked away from her gaze.

"Alright, thank you for your time…Yumi. We should get back to the others now." Len said, the woman caught a slight shade of red on the boy's cheeks as they walked back to the rest of the group. "Hey guys, anything exciting happen while we were chatting away?" Yumi greeted cheerfully, Lenny was slightly taken aback at how fast her mood had changed. "We passed a cloud! We passed a lot of clouds! Hey there's another cloud!" Trey exclaimed sarcastically, pointing out the window at the said sight. The group got a good laugh out of that as Mayumi reclaimed her spot next to Yoh and Len went to sit on his single seat again. Things quieted down for about five minutes before something entirely unexpected happened on the plane. "**BE MY LADY!**" Rio leapt over everyone to kneel in front of Yumi, presenting a poor excuse for a bouquet of flowers about an inch from her face. Eyes twitching and half-closed, the intruded woman slowly pushed the 'flowers' away and glared at the man kneeling before her. "And what exactly do you think that you're trying to pull?" everyone but Rio inched away from the female Asakura when the venom was heard in her quietly intense voice. "I have made it my goal to find my Shaman Queen, and I want you to please **MARRY ME**!" if it had not been for the finger that Yumi placed on Rio's forehead, he would have kissed her right then and there. "I've got news for you Rio, I have no interest in any sort of relationship and I harbor no feelings for you whatsoever in the fashion that you are portraying yours. Now if you could please get out of my face, I will forget this little mishap and refrain from making sure that you never get the chance to have kids." Yumi's voice was dripping with venom as she threatened Rio, who actually got the message and high-tailed it out of her personal space before she could reconsider her threat.

The plane was deathly quiet for the next few minutes, the only sound was that of everyone's breathing and even that was nearly silent. The silence was brutally broken, however, when the sound of a deafening explosion reached the ears of the Shaman and their Guardians. "What the hell was that! Lenny was that supposed to happen!" Trey screamed like a little girl when everyone was thrown to the floor. Yumi pulled herself to look out the window on the left side of the plane and cursed violently under her breath; the left engine was smoking and looked like it was going to completely incinerate within the next few minutes. "We have to bail out! The left engine's going to blow and take us with it if we don't!" the woman managed to yell over the commotion that the boys were making and started pushing them to the exit door. "BAIL OUT! ARE YOU NUTS? WE'LL DIE BEFORE WE HIT THE GROUND!" Trey screeched before Lenny shoved him out of the plane and jumped out himself along with the rest of the group. Mayumi took a moment before she jumped, waiting for all the boys to clear the plane before taking a deep breath and jumping and summoning Ryoushiame. "Ryoushiame, Spirit Form! Fusion!" Yumi cried as she fused with the gryphon spirit, surrounded by a bright light.

When the light cleared the boys were shocked at what they saw. Blue-silver wings sprouted from the woman's back, normally short brown hair of the female Asakura was now midnight black and reached her mid-back, and the other change was that now Yumi was large enough to hold all of the boys atop her back, which was exactly what she did. About five minutes later, the group was safely on the by the crash site and Mayumi was being bombarded with questions. "One at a time guys! I can't tell what you're saying if you're all talking at once!" the only woman in the group held up her now normal-sized hands as to keep the males at bay, Ryoushiame floating at her side. "What the heck did you do! That was amazing!" Yoh spoke first, his eyes wide while he looked at his elder sister in awe. "What I did was called Spirit Fusion. It's like Spirit Unity except with Unity there is no physical change and with Fusion there is. With Fusion you and your Guardian literally share a new body, though it differs with each Shaman." Yumi answered as best she could. _"So how did you achieve Spirit Fusion? It couldn't have been very easy."_ Amidamaru was the next to speak up. _"It was not, Yumi and I trained with Spirit Unity for years before completely mastering Fusion, though it's still a new concept for us so we don't use it very often."_ Ryoushiame answered plainly as Lenny checked the engine.

"Well, the engine didn't blow up, it was sabotaged." the Tao proclaimed, causing the boys to fall back in surprise. "I thought so. Since the competition is going to get pretty tough some of the weaker Shaman are going to try and thin out the crop before getting to Dobi Village." Mayumi stated, dusting off her pants as she rose to her feet. "But why! That's so not cool! That has to be cheating!" Trey leapt to his feet in protest. "Do you see any Patch Tribe members to disqualify any Shaman? If someone doesn't make it to Dobi Village the Council will not care one bit no matter if the Shaman is dead or alive. Life isn't fair Trey Racer, it's about time you learned that lesson." the woman stated calmly, walking away from the plane wreckage. "Where are you going Miss Yumi? Do you know where Dobi Village is?" Rio asked, though he still kept his distance. "No, but I do know that there is an oasis in that direction." Yumi answered, pointing her finger in the general direction of the oasis. "Oh yeah! I saw that while we were flying down on your back Sis! If we get over there then we'll be able to cool off and decide where to go from there!" Yoh exclaimed, leaping up and walking over to his sister. "How in the world did you two even notice anything while we were falling through the sky!" Trey screeched at the siblings as the group started to walk in the direction of the oasis. "Correction, I _flew_ you all down. We noticed the oasis because it is preferred to observe your surroundings and take in useful information when you are in an unfamiliar area, both Yoh and myself were looking around as I _flew_ you all safely to the ground." Yumi answered plainly as looked over her left shoulder casually as she plopped her bo staff over her right shoulder, pack hanging off of the pointed tip. Trey looked like a kicked puppy as the group started walking towards the oasis; all the while Amidamaru and Ryoushiame headed out for a search of the surrounding desert to see if there were any towns or cities nearby that the group could gather information in. It took nearly three hours for the group of five shaman and their spirits to reach the oasis, once there the Asakura siblings laid on the grass to catch some shut-eye and wait for their spirits to return with any information on their whereabouts.

The silence was shortly broken by the other three idiots, beginning with Trey leaping into the water.

"Curse you! I told you to wait your turn!" Lenny screeched at the blue-haired boy. "What's the big deal? I had to cool down and I couldn't wait any longer." Trey complained as Len's hair started to twitch. "I will not allow you to sully my drinking water! GET OUT!" Lenny screamed at the snow boarder, who walked out of the water. "Better." the Tao said before raising some water up to his lips and drinking. "Ahh…this feels fantastic ahahahahaha—AAAHHH! Hey! What's the big idea scarf boy!" Rio had decided to take a dip while Len wasn't looking, said Tao realized this as he spit out the water and sliced the older man's hair. "Why must I surround myself with half-wits?" Len muttered in a self-pity way. "Half-wits!" Trey was clearly offended by his teammate's comment. "Only animals bathe in their drinking water." the Tao family leader defended his argument. "I have had enough of you! Lets go!" the snow-boy exclaimed, bringing out his snowboard. "I want a piece of him too!" Rio snarled, getting out his wooden sword as well. "Bring it on!" Lenny challenged, positioning his Kwan Dao to fight.

It was at that time when Amidamaru and Ryoushiame decided to show back up. _"Everybody please stop, calm down, stop fighting."_ the samurai pleaded, exiting his spirit ball form to enter his humanoid form. "HE STARTED IT!" was the only reply that the three idiots gave. _"Won't you two do something? Yoh? Yumi?"_ Amidamaru pleaded with his master and his sister. "It's okay, they're only fighting because they're such good friends." Yoh replied with his eyes still shut. "WE ARE NOT FRIENDS!" the idiots screeched defiantly. "If you weren't friends then you wouldn't care what the other guy said about you, and if you didn't care then you wouldn't need to fight. Do you see our point?" Yumi finished what her little brother was going to say, she had told him the same thing a long time ago. The three sighed before letting go of their spirit control. "They take all the fun out of being angry ya know." Trey complained. "All too well." Lenny replied. "Yes, on this the three of us can agree." the shirtless, hairy male sighed, Yumi internally shuddered at his image.

"'Ame, Amidamaru, did you find anything on your scouting tour?" Mayumi asked the two ghosts as the other three boys put their weapons away. _"We did, the nearest town is about a two day's walk away."_ Ryoushiame stated, causing everyone to fall on the ground if they weren't already. "TWO DAYS! WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU MEAN BY A TWO DAY WALK!" Trey screeched bloody murder, making Yumi cover her sensitive ears in pain. "Well if we need to walk that long of a distance, then we should just get started! Let's go guys!" Yoh stood up and stretched before picking up his things and waiting for the rest of the group. "Yoh's right, it doesn't matter the distance because it's probably a lot farther to Dobi Village. So let's just get walking already, it'll be good training anyway!" Yumi stood and gathered her things as well, her eyes dared the three loafing idiots to try and say otherwise. "Oh you don't have to keep reminding me how far away this place is!" Trey complained as he gathered his things. "What did I say about whining?" Lenny snapped as he, too, readied himself to leave. "Hey, that comment would bother me if you were my friend, but, since you're not, keep talking." the Ainu sneered sarcastically. "I'll keep talking as long as it keeps you quiet!" the Tao shot back as the group left the oasis in the direction of the village that Amidamaru and Ryoushiame found. _'This is going to be a long journey with those three bickering back and forth. They all have their own strengths, I'll give them that, but they don't stand a chance against Zeke. Actually, I don't think that I stand as that much of a threat to that pyro-maniac.'_ the lone female of the group thought darkly to herself as their small group fell silent and continued on.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

The sun was just going down when the group came upon the road that the Asakura siblings' spirits said would lead them to the nearest town. "This is exactly what we needed, all we need to do now is to wait for someone to drive by and ask them for a ride to the nearest town!" Trey exclaimed, though he was not intent on going any farther as he plopped down on the side of the road. "Leave this to Rio!" Rio spoke of himself in third person as he stood in the middle of the road with his wooden sword in the air. There was silence for about five minutes before there was a screech, and suddenly there was a truck sitting in front of the group. "That's quite a thumb you've got yourself there mister." the guy driving the pick-up said, sticking his head out the window and looking at Rio. "Like they say: 'Have thumb, will travel'. As a fellow brother of the road, I'm sure that you've heard that one before!" Rio turned to look at the guy driving the truck. "You bet, hop in the back fellas." the guy smiled as he looked at the group, though Yumi kept her mouth shut that she was a girl. "Hey, thanks!" Yoh smiled at the random truck driver as we climbed in the bed of the truck, though Rio hopped in the passenger seat. "I gotta tell ya, I've been driving the two-lane my whole life and I heard tale of a traveler with a magical thumb, but I never believed it! Wait till the boys back home hear this one!" those were the last words that the lone female of the group heard. Plugging her iPod headphones into her ears and going to sleep for the night in the back of a pick-up truck, surrounded by boys that were five years her junior, a boy a year her junior who was a complete ladies-man, and being driven by a complete stranger, Yumi was oddly at peace with herself.

At least for now.

_So many things are uncertain, but I know that I'm going to get through them with Yoh and his friends, however strange they are. The next part of the Shaman Tournament will be difficult, but I am going to make sure that my brother gets through no matter what life throws our way. With Zeke on the loose, I have no idea when he will show up again, though when he does, I won't bother holding back again. Next time there won't be humans around to protect, so no one will need to be held back. Yet now it is time for me to catch some shut eye…in the back of a truck…eh, whatever. Just another day in the life of Mayumi Asakura. Good-night._

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**There you have it! Chapter 3!**

**Now hit that pretty button and review people! The more reviews that I get, the faster the chapters will go up!**


	4. Of Info and Traps

**Summary:** Mayumi Asakura was always very close with her baby brother, Yoh, but he hasn't seen her in three years. When they both pass through the first round of the Shaman Tournament and find each other again, will Yumi travel with her brother and his new friends to Dobi Village? And what will Zeke do when he finds out that he has an older sister?

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Shaman King do you really think that I would be writing this story?

**_Key:_**

"Normal Speech"; _"Spirit Speech"_; _'Thoughts'_; _Reflections/Flashbacks_

Len/Lenny Tao = Ren Tao; Morty = Manta; Trey = Horohoro; Rio = Ryu; Zeke = Hao; Joco = Chocolove

**Hey everyone, my updates are not going to be regulated because my schedule changes so much, sorry…**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_I woke up in the middle of the night to find out that Billy was still driving without any problems, which was pretty darn impressive if you ask me. So, after convincing myself that my brother and his friends were in good hands, I returned to my slumber in peace only to wake up three more times in the night and wee hours of the morning because I felt uneasy; like someone was watching me. But, we arrived at the next town without any problems so I didn't say a word to my brother or his friends when they woke up the next morning. Right now we are looking at a map of the town trying to figure out the best way to gather information on Dobi Village, with the exception of Rio who is making it his business to say a long goodbye to the truck driver who we won't even see again. Why do I even bother with that perverted shaman again?_

"Hey, you guys hungry?" Trey asked as the four of us looked at the map of the town. "We do not have time to waste. We need to get information on Dobi Village." as usual Lenny was being a party crasher, but luckily, and unknown to the boys, Mayumi had some donuts stashed in my pack for emergencies. Though the woman declined to comment on her food because this was not an emergency situation, the boys would probably hate her for it later though. "What do you say we split-up, ask around and find out?" Yoh suggested a wonderful strategy of divide-and-conquer for info. "Hey Rio, come on, we're going, enough with the good-byes!" Yumi called to the eldest male of the group who was currently in a hug-fest with the truck driver. Once the big lug got back over to the group they decided that it would be a good idea to split up, everyone went by themselves except for Yoh and Mayumi, defending that they had been separated for a long time and needed to catch-up.

"No one seems to know anything about Dobi Village!" Yoh sighed in frustration after the pair had spoken with a group of women. "Don't worry about it Yoh, I didn't think that it would be that easy." Yumi assured her brother as they walked towards the meeting spot. "What do you mean by that sis?" the young shaman asked in confusion. "Well, this is a top-secret tournament that only shaman know about so why would normal humans know about Dobi Village? I mean, it would probably make a good tourist attraction so they have to keep it hidden so normal humans don't know about the tournament. That makes it harder for the contestants to find leads on how to get to the next round." the woman answered, pausing to look through a window of the town's music shop. "I think we have some time to kill before the others get back, let's go in here Yoh." Yumi gave a trademark Asakura grin to her brother as she pointed to the music shop. "Sure, why not? I need some new tunes anyway!" Yoh smiled back at his sister as they walked into the shop.

The minute that she entered the shop, Mayumi knew that she was being watched and knew that Yoh felt it as well. One look between the siblings was all it took to get a message across: 'Act normal and don't buy the music'. So the pair walked through the music selections, Yoh keeping to the CDs while his sister looked through the headphones since hers were getting a little fuzzy. After looking for about a minute, Yumi found a pair of headphones that she fell in love with. The headphones looked like a carbon-copy of her brother's, except instead of orange this pair was dark green. The woman picked up the headphones and found that the price was rather cheap for headphones of such good quality, and walked up to the check-out to purchase them. Five minutes later the siblings walked out of the music shop, Yumi with her new headphones around her neck and attached to her iPod in her back pocket, and walked over to the bench where Rio and Trey were already waiting for them.

Yoh sat down on the bench while Yumi leaned up against the tree next to the white bench to wait for Lenny to come back. When the young Tao Family leader did finally return, all four of the waiting shaman grinned like no tomorrow when they saw the lipstick mark on Len's left cheekbone. "So it appears that we've had no luck at all. We'll just have to keep our eyes peeled for a clue. For now let us find an eating establishment." Len spoke with his eyes closed so he could not see the grins that the rest of the group was giving him because of the smooch mark. "It looks to me that someone had a little luck." Rio commented from his place next to the Tao. "You've got some explaining to do Lenny!" Trey laughed from the other side of the boy. "I don't know what you're talking about!" Len defended himself horribly by attempting to cover up the lipstick mark. "Spare me your modesty, do tell!" once again it was Rio who poked fun at Len. "We don't have time for frivolity!" once again, Len tried and failed to defend himself from the onslaught of the other boys. "Awww come on! Where'd ya get that little smooch mark?" Yumi didn't catch if either Trey or Yoh poked fun at Lenny next because another player had just walked in on the group.

"Are you looking for Dobi Village?" the strange girl walked up to the group, effectively taking Lenny out of the spotlight. "We are." the Tao answered her simply. "Do you know anything about it?" Trey asked hopefully. _'I'm not buying this girl, seems too easy to me.'_ Yumi thought to herself, eyeing the new girl carefully. The girl had a nerd sense about her, from the green hair to the plaid skirt to the glasses and the sweater-vest; the eldest Asakura child got a bad vibe off of the new girl. "Not personally, though I know somebody who might." Yumi's eyes narrowed at the statement, this was too easy. "Seriously!" Trey jumped up from his seat in excitement. "That's right, she's lived here many years! Follow me!" the green-haired girl turned to lead the group away. _'Definitely too easy. We looked all over town for info and this girl pops up out of nowhere with what we need. It's going to be a trap.'_ Yumi frowned at the girl, who paid her no heed. "What good fortune!" Rio was falling for it. "This rules! Come on guys!" Trey called everyone to follow the girl. _'These guys are such idiots, if it weren't for me, Yoh and Len, they wouldn't have even gotten this far. But I guess that I'll play along, for now at least.'_ the woman thought to herself as she followed the group after the strange green-haired girl.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

"Here we are, come in!" the strange girl opened up the door to a creaky old house on the outskirts of the town. "Sweet! After all this we can grab some grub and gorge out the rest of the day!" Trey and Rio walked right in without a second thought while Mayumi, Yoh and Lenny held back for a minute. "You're thinking this seems too easy?" Yoh asked his sister and Lenny. "Glad someone else noticed besides me. Keep your guard up you two." Yumi smirked at her brother and his friend. "As always." was all that the Tao said, though the woman could tell that he was somewhat relieved as they walked inside. _'This is probably the group that was watching us at the oasis, on the road, and in the music shop. That means that there are five of them in total, not very strong shaman, but they have the right idea of picking off the competition before Dobi Village. Their only mistake is that they picked the wrong group to mess with.'_ Yumi thought to herself as the three younger boys took a seat while she and Rio stood behind the sofa, waiting for the elder lady who was so conveniently seated with her back towards them to speak.

"I hear you're looking for a place called Dobi Village." the 'old lady' stated from her rocker. "Yes we are." Rio stated plainly. "As far as we can tell it isn't listed on any maps. So we'd really appreciate any help you could give us." Trey spoke next, sounding hopeful. "Hmmm…lets see, Dobi Village, Dobi Village,…" the 'old lady' kept repeating Dobi Village so much that it only confirmed Yumi's gut feeling that this was a trap. Furthering her gut feeling was the fact that the so-called 'old lady' did not have any sensible life-force and there was a life-force in the closet while the green-haired girl walked over to the window and made a peace sign to someone outside. _'This is definitely a trap, now there is no doubt about it in my mind.'_ Yumi thought to herself, tapping Yoh on the shoulder. The boy gave a slight nod of his head to show his sister that he knew and was just going to go along with it, a fact that he knew what they were up against. _'I'm so proud of him, he's come so far since I left home three years ago!'_ the woman thought proudly as she brought her attention to the 'old lady' once more.

"…Dobi Village…hmm, why don't you tell me what you know about it?" the 'woman' asked after she finally stopped repeating herself. "Oh, we can't, we came to you for info we—what the?" Trey finally noticed the girl in the closet. "Well my friends, it seems this was a false lead. Perhaps it is time to move on." Rio sighed, clearly disappointed. "There's only one thing before we go, tell me, why do you want information about it?" Lenny hit the nail on the head, making the woman in the closet stutter as she threw her voice. Finally growing tired of the game, Yumi walked right over to the closet and opened the doors. "Game's over, you can come out of the closet now." Yumi gave the blond a dead-pan look, making her gasp in surprise. "Who are you?" Trey and Rio questioned as the girl walked out to see everyone. "This…is not a granny! It's a teddy bear!" Rio stated the obvious as Mayumi walked back over to her brother. "So, you found us out?" the blonde smirked at the group. "I applaud your ability to throw your voice, quite a performance. Tell me, is that one of your shaman talents?" Lenny stood as he spoke, causing a shocking reaction from everyone except for Yoh and Mayumi.

"You girls are shaman? How many of you are in on this?" the ice-shaman got a two-fingered answer from the green-haired girl. "I don't think you're being truthful. If you're part of the group that was watching us at the oasis, then there are five of you." Yoh stated, making his sister smirk. "Yep, you're the same group of five female shamans that was watching us at the oasis, and last night on the road, and while me and Yoh were in the music shop earlier." Yumi threw her two cents in as well, causing an even bigger reaction. "Oh yeah, I forgot about those ones! Thanks sis!" Yoh snickered at his sister while the rest of the people were shell-shocked, except for Lenny. "I didn't see anyone at the oasis." Trey confessed. "Me either, but Master Yoh and Mistress Yumi are very observant." Rio commented after his younger companion. "Well, well, well, you may have seen through our ruse this time, but next time—oh, AHHHH!" the blonde girl screeched as a giant hammer crashed through the house.

"Amidamaru!" "Bason!" "Ryoushiame!"

The three guardians got out just in time to catch the Furyoku-filled hammer, the blue and grey gryphon taking the brunt of the force since he was much stronger than the human spirits. _"These girls are pathetic, why can't you call me out for a real fight Yumi?"_ Ryoushiame commented dryly as the hammer was reduced back to its base form. "Sorry 'Ame, just didn't really want to get crushed." the woman apologized to her guardian, making the other girls angry. "And just who do you think you are to call us weak!" the blonde one cried out. "I am the eldest child of the Asakura family, I trained on my own in the wilderness for three years straight, I can sense your strengths and weaknesses, and to top it all off I'm not a spoiled rotten brat, I work for what I want and need. You girls look like you're used to things coming to you on a silver platter." Mayumi gave the group of girls another dead-pan look as she spoke, throwing an intense glare in to make even the red-head shiver a bit. "And just who are you people?" Lenny decided to throw his two-cents in as well.

"Allow us to formally introduce ourselves! From the left girls!" the blonde one was getting on Yumi's nerves very quickly.

"Sally."

"Lilly.

"Ellie."

"Millie."

"Sharona!"

"Uhhh, why didn't the last one end with "-ly"?" Yoh asked in his naive fashion. "I don't know, you want me to go ask her?" Trey was in on the circle. "It does sound a little bit funny." ending with Rio was the interest with the girl's names. "What's it matter! Did you all do something to my airplane?" Lenny sure was pointing fingers, though Yumi didn't blame him, that thing looked expensive! "What if we did?" the newly dubbed Sharona mocked. "That was a bad move, the council will hear about this." "Ha! Like we care! The only rule of the second round, dear boy, is that you have to find Dobi Village one month, there's no rule saying you can't eliminate other participants along the way." the girl's argument was sound, though Yumi noticed Silva's appearance in the tree before he even spoke. "That is true. But there is a rule say that you will be disqualified if you fight and lose while a council judge is watching, even if the fight is unofficial." the Patch Tribe member startled everyone except for Mayumi when he addressed the problem.

"No way, you just made that up on the spot!" Sharona whined. "You should have read the oracle message more closely, it's all there in the last section." Silva informed the female shaman. "Last what?" Trey voiced the confusion of both groups. "Press the 'B' button and scroll down." the Patch Tribe Judge stated simply. "'B' button?" everyone except for Yumi looked at their oracle bells. The result was everyone talking excitedly. _'These guys are such morons! They thought that the oracle bells were just for calling matches?'_ the eldest female Asakura nearly fell over because of her group's reactions. "Check it out Lenny! This thing's even got games on it!" Trey was so easily distracted. "Like you need any more distractions." the Tao groaned. "Look at all these menus!" Rio was also distracted. "Woah!" even Yumi's baby brother was distracted by the new discovery. "Say, what happens when you click on that right there? No the one there?" Rio was drowned out by the sound of Sharona and her team attacking the boys.

"Seems like I need to take care of this one." Yumi growled as she stepped in front of the boys, smirking as the girls threw their strongest attacks at her. "Ryoushiame, into the bo staff." the blue and grey gryphon complied with his mistress' order and a shield of Furyoku surrounded the group of five. "I got this guys, you can continue checking out your new toys." the female sent a pointed look over her shoulder at the rest of her group, three of whom were smiling sheepishly. "We could have easily defended ourselves, but you can go ahead." Len turned away from the group, embarrassed about being caught off-guard. "With pleasure, it's been a while since I had a good warm-up." Yumi smirked as she turned back to the Lily Five, the dust clearing as she put the shield down. With Ryoushiame in her bo staff it was surrounded with bluish-grey energy and had the same color wings sprouting from either side of the pointed tip. The gryphon's red eyes and beak were embedded into the energy wherever Yumi had her hand, or hands, holding the weapon.

"We did it!" the blonde shaman girl exclaimed excitedly as the dust settled. "Actually, you didn't even give us a scratch." the voice that was Mayumi called as she walked out of the dust cloud. "What! How could you still be standing after that attack?" one of the other girls asked, scared out of her wits. "As I told you before, I'm stronger than all of you. Now it's my turn to attack you." Yumi smirked again, a glint flickered in her eyes as she walked forward. "Cyclone Storm!" the woman pointed her weapon's pointed side at the group of five and slashed it from her left side to her right, causing a strong wind blast filled with Furyoku to cover the Lily Five with dust and nearly break their spirit control. Once the dust settled, the Lily Five found themselves confronted by the boys as well as Yumi. "Care to go again girls?" Yumi asked calmly, eyes locking with Sharona. "It's not fair!" two of the girls cried as they held each other. "You haven't defeated us yet, we still have spirit control!" the blonde defended.

"The key word in that phrase is yet." Lenny glared at the group of girls. "What are we gonna do Sharona?" the girl with the green camo sleeveless shirt was nearly in tears. "Relax, this is exactly the reason that I came up with a second plan." Sharona gained some scared looks after she spoke. "Oh no!" the same girl exclaimed. "We're gonna do that!" the youngest girl asked. "They leave us no choice!" the blonde was really getting on Yumi's nerves. "You have another plan?" Lenny was egging them on. "Well then, bring it on." Rio followed suit. "RUUUUNNNNN!" Yumi's eyes were wide as dinner plates as the group of girls ran off into the distance. "Later losers!" the youngest girl called back. "Wow." Trey was nearly speechless. "Indeed." Len was in the same boat. "Be careful of roses boys, they always have thorns." Rio gave his advice, which was a little stupid in Yumi's opinion. "I like roses." Lenny confessed. Mayumi could no longer hold back her laughter, so, she laughed at the boys until there were tears coming out of her eyes. "H-hey! What are you laughing at Yumi!" Trey questioned as the female sat on the ground and clutched her stomach as she laughed. "You guys! I can't believe you guys!" Yumi spoke between bursts of laughter. Her brother joined her after a moment, knowing exactly what she was laughing at. "You too Yoh! What in the world is so funny?" the ice-shaman was clearly confused. "Aw, you guys should see yourselves! If I didn't know any better I'd say you guys are a little smitten!" Yoh laughed at his friends. "Well, five beautiful shaman princesses are enough to smite any man." Rio, once again, was blabbering on about nothing.

After that the other three shaman joined the siblings in their laughter before walking back to the town to get something to eat.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

"WHAT! Why does he get to be our leader?" Trey was having a hard time accepting Yoh as the leader of the little group. "Because I said so. If nothing else those girls were organized, they had a leader. We should have a leader too if we wish to accomplish anything." Lenny said simply. "Yeah but…but why YOH!" Trey fired back at the Tao. "The reason is simple, it is simply not my character to be the helm of the group and stand out. You'll have to forgive me." another plain response by Len Tao. "That's not what I meant! You…back me up here Rio! We'll never make it to Dobi Village in time if this slacker is calling all the shots!" the ice-shaman turned to the older boy for support. "I will follow you anywhere my brave leader!" Rio was hugging Yoh's neck. "What's the point! HEY! Yumi is the oldest so shouldn't SHE be our leader!" Trey argued once more, the group turning to the lone female in the group. "I'm not cut out to be a leader, I'm more of a 'you-tell-me-what-to-do-I'll-do-it' kind of person. Besides, I think that Yoh would make a great leader." Yumi smiled at the boys.

"Okay then it's done." Lenny smirked at his decision making skills. However when the group turned to look at Yoh, they found that Rio was attempting to kiss him. With an angry glare, Yumi walked right over to Rio, picked him up by the back of his shirt, and kicked him where it hurts. "Let's get out of this town." the woman said as she turned away from a whimpering Rio, watching as the other boys winced out of pity for the older boy before following the eldest Asakura. Rio soon picked himself up and waddled after his group, wincing ever time he took too large of a stride. _'And that is why you don't attempt to kiss my younger brother, let that be a lesson to all. Yoh is engaged to Anna, and she is the only person besides me that can ever kiss my brother.'_ Yumi thought smugly to herself as the group walked out of the small town at sundown.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

"There's no way this is gonna work again!" Trey complained as the group stood at the edge of the road, Rio was going to try calling for a ride once more. "All brothers of the road are connected cosmically, they always find one another, like so." Rio brought up his 'thumb' like the night before. Not a minute passed before a blue pick-up truck slid to a stop in front of the group, Billy sticking his head out the window. "Ah, we meet again my favorite roaming companion!" Rio spoke to Billy as the rest of the group nearly fell over. _'This is just freaky…'_ Yumi complained in her mind as they all got in the truck once more, Rio riding shotgun, Yoh and Amidamaru on the roof, while the rest of the group was in the bed of the truck. As the rest of the boys spoke to one another Yumi placed her new headphones over her ears and leaned against the outside of the truck, taking note that the Lily Five was still following them in the distance, but she didn't really mind as long as they didn't attack them again.

As the sound of her favorite song floated through her headphones, Mayumi slowly began to fall asleep in the back of the same blue pick-up she had slept in the night before. Smiling as she watched the stars, the female shaman fell asleep to the sound of her music.

_And so another day in the life of Mayumi Asakura has come to a close. Gosh that was cheesy! I am so proud that my brother is getting stronger and that his observation skills are improving! I remember when he couldn't find me without me deliberately leaving clues for him to follow. He's improving so much and it makes me so proud! I truly believe that Yoh will make an amazing Shaman King and that he will be the one to defeat Zeke once and for all! Ah well, it's about time for me to get to sleep. Until next time._

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**There you have it! Chapter 4!**

**Now hit that pretty button and review people! The more reviews that I get, the faster the chapters will go up!**


	5. Of Computers and A New Friend?

**Hey guys...sorry that this one took so long...I kinda got side-tracked but your reviews finally gave me the inspiration to finish this chapter!~**

**Oh yeah, and I need to address the one review that was made without an account:**

**Dear Nomi,**

**Why thank you so much for your review, it was so awe-inspireing that I decided to write you a letter for everyone to read since you either A) don't have an account, or B) don't have the guts to make a review like that with your account. So, here's what I think about your review. First of all, you really need to work on your grammar and spelling. I mean, really? You spell Fanfiction and thousand wrong, use 'but no any,' and don't even finish your sentence. On top of that, there aren't even nine-thousand Shaman King Fanfics, let alone '67347849439 thuosand' as you put it. If you're going to flame my story, do me a favor at least get your facts right and use proper grammar and spelling, because you just made me laugh. Lesson of the day, if you don't like the story, don't read it! I don't care that you don't like my story, because there are other people who do, in fact, like it.**

**Once again, thanks for the review, it made my day.**

**Now then, let chapter...Five begin!**

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_So we made it to the next town without so much as a scratch on us, I guess that we owe it to the no-sleep-truck-driver Billy, who Rio is saying good-bye to, that we got here as fast as we did. Here we are standing in front of a clock tower while the pair share their revolting conversation and discussing what to do next. Len seems to have an idea on his mind so I should probably pay attention now._

"So how are we supposed to find Dobi Village? Any ideas?" Trey commented once the blue truck was driving out of sight. "Lets just call information." Yoh joked, trying to ease the tension. "HEY! DOBI VILLAGE! ANYONE KNOW WHERE IT IS!" Rio's yelling earned him a smack on the back of the head by Yumi. "Quit yer yelling! That's not what he meant you moron!" the female growled as the male held the back of his head in pain. "Where are you going Len?" Trey asked the Tao as he started walking from the group. "To the one place in this backwater berg where I can get access to an information nerve center." Lenny answered simply. "That sounds like a good plan!" Yoh agreed with the other boy. "What is he talking about?" Rio asked, completely confused. "Take a guess." Lenny smirked, believing that the other boys would know what he was talking about. However it was not to be, both Trey and Rio began to ramble on that 'Nerve Center' was a hot new video game. "You guys can't be serious?" Mayumi grumbled resting her face in her hands in shame as Len sent the pair into orbit.

"You told us to take a guess, so we took a guess! What more do you want from us?" Rio and Trey were both complaining when they got back on the ground. "Nerve center is not a video game, Lenny was talking about going to the LIBRARY and gaining access to the INTERNET! You two are complete idiots!" Yumi growled at the boys, making them shiver and shrink in size. "Aw take it easy on them sis! Neither one of them are around civilization enough to know what the Internet is." Yoh laughed, making both boys complain. "Yet they know about the latest video game? That is a sorry excuse Yoh and you know it." the female deadpanned while her brother shrugged. "I tried didn't I?" the boy laughed as the group walked over to the town's library.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

The group was standing in the town's library less than ten minutes later, searching for any clues about Dobi Village on a computer with access to the World Wide Web via Lenny. "Right now I'm cross-referencing the world's foremost geographical databases, my Tao Family connections allow me to access top-secret sites." Lenny boasted as the librarian woman typed on the computer for him. "That's impressive!" Yoh commented. "I'd be more impressed if Len here could do his own typing!" Trey was jealous and everyone knew it. "I've spent all my free time honing my _fighting_ skills, not my _office_ skills." the short boy retorted. "Forget that, can you order me a pizza on that thing?" Rio asked seriously, making Yoh and Trey laugh. _'This isn't getting us anywhere, and I wish that Lenny could do his own typing.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she watched the boys before seating herself in front of a computer. "What are you doing sis?" Yoh asked his sister when he saw her in front of a computer. "Looking up maps, if we can't find Dobi Village through the Internet we at least need a map to give us an idea of where to look." the female waved her hand over her shoulder before going back to her computer.

"I'll take over now, only a Tao can enter the secret code." Lenny had his hand on the librarian's shoulder in a calm manner, though the others suddenly perked up at the words 'secret code'. _'A secret code!'_ Trey thought. _'Maybe this is the key to the Tao Family's power!'_ Yoh's thoughts were hopeful. _'Once we know it, there will be no stopping us!'_ Rio was also very hopeful. _'I bet it's really stupid.'_ once again Yumi was the kill-joy. As Lenny sat down the three other boys leaned closer to the keyboard while Mayumi smirked over her left shoulder, watching the Tao's fingers. "Enter." Len spoke as he pressed the 'enter' key. Yumi nearly fell out of her chair laughing at the simplicity of the 'secret-code', it was so obvious that it was ingenious. "That's your secret code!" Trey screamed at the Tao boy. "Do you know a better one?" Lenny laughed back. "That code is so obvious it is ingenious Len!" Yumi was laughing so hard her sides were cramping and tears were leaking out of her eyes.

The boys gathered around Lenny's computer, waiting for the results for the search to come through. When they did, all four of them were rendered speechless. "There were no results found from my search? Impossible! No directions, no maps! Not even one mention of Dobi Village!" Len exclaimed, clearly shocked beyond belief. "Well I could have told you that." the eldest female spoke from her computer, still looking for maps of the desert. "What do you mean by that Yumi?" Lenny questioned the woman harshly, leaping up from his chair. The eighteen year old woman turned in her chair, fixing the boys with a cool expression before she spoke. "What I mean is that this tournament is supposed to be the one that determines the fate of the world, one that ninety percent of the world knows nothing about, one that Shaman die just to get a chance to be in, and one that determines the king of the world. Do you honestly believe that the location of the village at which this is decided is public knowledge? Do you honestly believe that the Patch would want people to be able to look up the location of their village from anywhere in the world? If that was the case then this would be a widely publicized event and the time frame would be drastically cut and the number of contestants would be severely limited due to the ease of access to the information on Dobi Village's location. If the world knew what was at stake during this tournament, do you honestly believe that normal humans would be living their normal lives during this time?" Mayumi's voice was calm and collected as she spoke, her eyes boring into the boys like a cold winter wind.

"I never thought about it that way. I suppose that you're right Yumi." Lenny commented quietly, his face was still disappointed but realization was there as well. The woman nodded before turning back to her computer, searching through the maps once more. "Well if that's the case, then what exactly are you looking for sis?" Yoh walked over to his sister to look over her shoulder. "A generic map of the Great Desert, that way we can mark any clues as to where the village might be." Yumi answered plainly as she pulled one up to study it. After another minute of studying it, the woman decided that it would do and called the librarian over for assistance. "Do your printers print color and how much is it to print two copies of this map?" the eighteen year old asked the young woman. "We do print in color and it will be two dollars for two of these printouts." the woman directed Mayumi to the correct printer before she printed out two copies of the document. "Thank you very much for your assistance." Yumi thanked the woman as she paid for the copies and walked out the door to find the boys sitting outside on the steps waiting for her. "Why did you print out two Yumi?" Yoh asked as his sister handed him one of the copies. "So that we only have to mark one, and so if we decide to split up if we come across clues we can put them down on the map and compare them later." the woman answered smoothly as she tucked her copy in her knapsack.

Meanwhile, Lenny and Trey had been fighting again and it was up to Yoh and Yumi to stop them. Again. "Alright guys cut it out, you two fighting doesn't solve anything." the female of the group leaned against one of the pillars and glared at the pair, who immediately quieted down. "We'll find Dobi Village, so leave the fighting until then alright." Yoh spoke next from his seat on the steps. "Alright I guess you're right Yoh." Trey sighed in defeat, and Yumi was beginning to wonder if he actually liked to fight with Lenny. "We still have plenty of time, we just need a new strategy is all." Yoh reassured his companions for the millionth time. "Like hiring a private eye?" Trey deadpanned at the leader of the group, not amused at all. "Or even better Trey, we could just be private detectives ourselves right? We could pound the pavement, talk to people, hunt down clues, all that PI stuff!" Yoh sounded really excited about acting like a detective. "I could be like Sherlock Homes and Yoh could be my assistant Watson." Len sounded dreamy at the thought. "Yeah right, or vice versa!" Yoh laughed at Lenny. "Then it's a plan!" Trey sounded excited too. "Don't worry, you can rest easy with Rio on the case!" the tall boy raced off to find clues, leaving the rest of the group to laugh.

"Alright guys, I'll head off this way to see what I can find out. Oh, and Lenny, try to get some work done without getting lipstick all over you this time." Yumi laughed as the Tao began to turn beet red and the other boys began laughing as she walked away with her bo staff slung over her left shoulder, knapsack hanging from it. _"Why did you decide to go off on your own this time Yumi?"_ Ryoushiame voiced his concerns to his shaman. "I just needed to be alone for a little while; Yoh and the others will find what they find with their own tactics. I'm going to scout out any other shaman in the area and see if they are willing to share any information." the woman answered calmly as she extended her senses to find any other shaman in the immediate area. After a moment of coming up with nothing, the eighteen-year-old jerked in surprise when she felt the Lily Five along with a few other strong shaman in the immediate area. _'Seems like I have some things to check out after all.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she walked in the direction of the Lily Five, wondering what they were doing around the strongest shaman in the area besides herself and her brother's friends.

Five minutes later Mayumi found the Lily Five cowering in a small area, seemingly shell-shocked about their encounter with the strong shaman that she had sensed with them earlier. _'Wait, where's Milly? Could she be with that other shaman?'_ the woman thought to herself as she continued to watch the girls from her perch on a rooftop corner. After watching the four girls for about another minute the youngest showed up, seeming to be in a better mood then the others. Figuring that she should actually try and gather information in another area, Yumi stood up and walked across the rooftop towards the door to the ground floor. Upon exiting the building, Yumi felt a sudden surge of Furyoku coming from Lenny and Trey. "Great, what did they get themselves into this time?" Mayumi grumbled to herself, annoyed at the boys as she started to walk over to their hotel room. A minute later the woman was flat out running, both boy's Furyoku levels had dropped dramatically and it felt like their opponent was just getting started. _'I'm not going to make it in time!'_ Yumi growled softly as she poured extra speed into her stride, hoping that Yoh and Rio would be able to hold this shaman off for a little bit before she got there.

Rounding the corner to the hotel, Yumi had her knapsack on her back and weapon in her hands, Ryoushiame infused within the bo staff. However she was already too late. The shaman who had attacked her group was unleashing his ultimate attack on her baby brother, who was standing calmly below the attack. The woman was unable to catch her brother's words before he destroyed the shaman's spirit control, defeating the green-haired boy instantly. _'It seems that I had no need to worry. Yoh is fully capable of taking care of himself and his friends.'_ Yumi thought proudly to herself as she released Ryoushiame from her bo staff. Walking up to her group, Mayumi supported a weak Len, who was surprised at first to see her there. "It's about time that you got here. Where have you been?" the Tao growled at the female Asakura. "I've been around, scouting out the shaman in the area. But it looks like I missed one." Yumi joked with the younger boy, making him snarl and pull away from her support, nearly falling over in the process.

Laughing at the boy's stubbornness, Mayumi followed the group to the hospital along with Lyserg, the very shaman that attacked her brother and friends. _'I'll have to keep an eye on him, if I'm not mistaken he was the one that shook up the Lily Five.'_ Yumi thought to herself as the group got to the hospital, though she never voiced her thoughts for the peace of mind of her companions.

_So we added another companion to our little groupie, I can't say whether I'm pleased or displeased with Yoh since I don't really know this kid yet so I'll save my judgment for later. For now we're headed to the hospital so that Rio and Trey can get the medical treatment that they need, and maybe Lyserg too. All in all, not a very productive day, but you know what they say, you win some and you lose some._

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**-sighs in relief- You have no idea how long it took me to get that ending to feel right.**

**-Yoh pops in- Why don't you just admit that you had writer's block?**

**Night: Because I'm stubborn that's why! -huffs-**

**Yoh: The faster the reviews come in, the faster the next one comes up!**

**Night: That's right people~**

**Both: Now hit that button and REVIEW! -echo-**


	6. Training and a Conversation

_So we got Lenny and Trey all fixed up only to have the boys get into another fight because of Lyserg; apparently he has a bone to pick with Zeke. All I can say is, get in line kid, you're not the only one who wants to put him in his place. Anyway, we're on the road once more, and this time we're actually counting on green-dude with his dousing skills to point us in the right direction. So we're headed towards the mountains, and I have a little plan for the boys and their training. Granted, they're not going to like it one bit, but why can't I have fun too?_

_Anna __**did**__ give me temporary control over Yoh's training after all. –insert evil grin here-_

The boys were arguing, again, as the group continued towards Dobi Village via Lyserg's ability of dousing for shamanic energy. Actually, it was just Trey, Rio, and Lenny arguing, but that wasn't a surprise to Yumi by a long-shot. _'I should implement my training right about now, if I wait until we get closer to the mountains then the boys won't be able to take the altitude change while trying to master the training at the same time.'_ the female shaman thought to herself in a way that made Yoh look at her in question. "What's up sis? You look like you have something you want to say." the boy inquired, making the rest of the group look at the sole female. "I was thinking about how I was going to tell you that Anna put me in charge of your training while she was away, Yoh." Mayumi commented, still looking thoughtful. The woman's young brother looked horror struck at the notion of being put into his sister's training while the other boys just looked shocked at her straight face. "Y-you don't plan on making me train while we're traveling…do you Yumi?" Yoh stuttered hopeful that his big sister wasn't being serious.

The comment brought the brunette woman out of her train of thought, her head turning to look at her little brother in a funny way. "I was planning on making you train regardless Yoh. This is the perfect time to be training." Yumi looked at her brother as if he were from another planet. "B-but sis! We're in the middle of the desert!" the whining was beginning to get on Yumi's nerves as the group stopped walking. "Yoh, you're barking up the wrong tree here. You forget that I lived in the wilderness for three years doing non-stop training, regardless of whether or not I was traveling. You are going to train while we travel whether you like it or not." the glare that Mayumi sent her brother would have made Anna flinch. "Unless of course you want me to inform your fiancée that you refused to train when I told you to." the woman stated with a straight-face when it looked like her brother was going to refuse. Face turning as white as a ghost, Yoh quickly nodded to his sister. "Well, if Yoh's going to train, shouldn't we do so as well?" Lyserg commented before anyone could speak again. "If Master Yoh is going to train, then I will do this as well!" Rio made his lame comment as well. "Why not dude? Not like we have any other way of passing the time." Trey shrugged, not wanting to miss an opportunity to get stronger. "If it's good enough for Yoh, then it's good enough for me." Lenny smirked, wanting to out-do everyone else. Yumi smirked in triumph; it had been her plan all along to get all of the boys to train with Yoh.

"Alright then, this is what you need to do…"

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

"Yumi! Why do we have to do this!" Yoh was crying in pain and embarrassment as the group walked along the dirt road. The boys were walking on their hands with much difficulty; clothes, weapons, and packs succumbing to the will of gravity as their arms struggled to hold their weight. Yumi, on the other hand, wasn't having trouble with any of her clothes, pack, or weapon falling, and her arms held her weight with no problems. They had been at this for a good three or four hours now, and the comments from the peanut gallery—a.k.a. the boys—were starting to annoy the female shaman. "You are thinking like normal people, start thinking like a shaman and it won't be a problem." the woman's voice was void of any hints of tiredness or fatigue as she continued to walk forward on her hands. There was another groan of the boys not being able to understand her logic, making Yumi sigh in frustration; they just didn't get it! All they had to do was use their Furyoku and they wouldn't have any problems! The exercise built muscle mass as well as control over one's Furyoku, the woman had used it many times in her travels and it was usually how she traveled herself.

Mayumi sighed in defeat once more; she wasn't going to give in and let the boys down, but that didn't mean that she had to be happy with their whining and complaining either. It was going to be another long day.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

It was only when the group stopped to make camp at the base of the mountain that night Yumi let them come down from their hand walking. When the boys groaned in relief, the woman nearly yelled at them for not getting the meaning of the training; even Yoh and Len hadn't picked up on it. _"Calm down Yumi, they will get it eventually."_ Ryoushiame had been trying his best to keep his shaman from losing her temper all day, but sometimes he just made it worse. "There is no eventually, Ryoushiame, if they didn't get it today then they won't get it tomorrow. The altitude change will just make it worse when we climb that mountain tomorrow." Yumi's voice was bitter and filled with disappointment as she set up her part of camp and the boys tried to recover. Apparently she hadn't been quiet enough so the boys couldn't hear her, because Yoh looked like a beaten puppy at his sister's words. _"Please excuse Yumi, she gets frustrated easily when it comes to these things."_ the gryphon spirit apologized to the boys.

The woman continued her angry, incoherent grumbling as she gathered wood for a fire and set her things by a tree on the edge of the forest at the base of the mountain they would be climbing in the morning. "H-how is she…able to move…around…when we're all…dead…" Trey gasped once the woman was out of sight, but not out of hearing range. _'Does he honestly have to ask that when I told them that…wait…I never did tell them that I travel like that all the time did I? Oops. Oh well, 'Ame will explain things to them by the time I get back with the firewood. Hell, he'll probably tell them how to do it like I do as well.'_ Yumi grumbled as she thought about the boy's poor performance that day. The young woman began picking up dead branches from the forest floor and snapping small branches off of saplings to fuel the fire that would soon be burning in their camp. Though her tranquility wasn't to last when she was joined by a certain fire-shaman.

"What do you want Zeke." Yumi grumbled as she snatched the branch he offered her. The 'boy' was quiet for a moment as he was ignored by the elder woman, content to watch her forage for firewood. "I wanted to talk to my sister, is that such a bad thing Yumi?" Zeke spoke sincerely, and his voice would have sounded pleasant if the woman didn't already know the hidden intent behind the words. "I have no intention in joining your group, Zeke. So you can stop your futile attempt to recruit me." Yumi spoke calmly as she stood from her previously crouched position, bringing her to stand about four inches over his five-foot-three stature. "…I am unable to access your mind, why is this sister? Why do you block me?" a hint of hurt was detected within the pyro-shaman's voice as he spoke to his sister. "I have trained myself to be immune to your mind reading, Zeke. Now, I'm going to get back to my brother and his friends, so be on your way. And leave Yoh alone." Yumi sent the boy a glare that made him shiver involuntarily as she walked back to camp. "You haven't seen the last of me sister, and that I know that you know." Zeke growled at the woman, the air around the pair seemed to raise a few degrees. "I know, Zeke, but I will not fight you now. So be on your way." Yumi let out a feral growl of her own, looking back at the brunette boy with slitted eyes. Zeke was clearly startled as he disappeared in a burst of flame, leaving Yumi to return to camp with her armful of wood and a temper even worse than before.

Once she got back to the camp, Yumi saw the boys sitting around Ryoushiame's spirit form and looking quite embarrassed and ashamed with themselves. Not saying a word, the woman began arranging the wood that she collected to make a fire while the gryphon spirit spoke with the group of boys and their guardians. _'Maybe he can talk some sense into them in a way that I couldn't.'_ the woman thought to herself, not at all worried or phased by the sudden appearance of her 'younger brother' in the forest moments before. Once the spirit was finished talking with them, the boys all crawled over to where the young woman was building the fire and sat quietly, not sure what to say for themselves. Yumi had the fire going by the time the sun began to set behind the mountains, though she stood again and made to grab her weapon. "Please sis, no more training. We're really sorry that we didn't get the Furyoku training today, but we're really sore and we have to climb the mountain tomorrow." Yoh's voice was quiet and sounded like a soft whine. Looking over her shoulder, Yumi saw that the boys were truly sorry, but she picked up her weapon anyway. "I never said anything about training, Yoh. I'm going to hunt for our dinner tonight. That is unless one of you packed food and didn't say anything." the young woman responded, placing the bo staff over her right shoulder. The boys were silent for a moment before a wave of relief washed over them like water.

"I'll be back within a half-hour, you all get some rest. Come on 'Ame, we're going hunting." Yumi called as she walked back into the forest, the gryphon spirit following quickly after her._"Are you upset that I told them about your training Yumi?"_ Ryoushiame asked after the pair was out of earshot of the group. "No, I expected you to tell them, but it doesn't mean that I'm any less disappointed in them. Especially Yoh and Lenny, they are the brightest out of the lot." the young woman commented dryly, cutting off her senses to the animals in the forest. That was the way the Yumi hunted; she cut off her senses so she wasn't 'cheating' by tracking an animal by its energy, but actually getting down and tracking it like any other person would. Kneeling down to look at the dirt, the woman searched for any sort of tracks that would tell her what kind of animals lived in this forest and where they went for water._'Find the water, find the prey. Everything needs to drink sometime.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she found what looked to be a wolf-track, but since the dirt was so smudged that it could have been a coyote or a fox. Either way, Mayumi and Ryoushiame were able to follow the tracks to a small river about a quarter of a mile from their camp. Settling in at the tree line, the shaman waited for something to come by that would feed the boys and her, maybe even having some leftovers for the next morning's breakfast.

Mayumi didn't have to wait long, for not five minutes later a fairly large deer walked up to the river to drink by herself. Making a bow out of her Furyoku, the woman took aim with her bo staff as the arrow and fired once the doe was completely still and drinking from the river. The kill was quick and painless for the female deer, as Yumi always made it a point to never allow her prey to suffer. Once she grabbed the doe and hoisted the carcass over her shoulder, the young woman made her way back to camp where groans and screeches awaited her and the group's dinner. Introducing the boys to outdoor living was going to be a hell of a lot of fun for Yumi and she was looking forward to every second of it.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

After the group had eaten their dinner it had been silent for a good five minutes before Trey let loose a fart that put a pile of cow dung to shame. It was only after much fanning and moving around did anyone begin to get to sleep and after ten minutes only Mayumi and Yoh were still awake. "Sis, can I sleep with you tonight? You know, like we used to when we were little? And could you finish that last song that you sang to me the night that you left?" the boy asked sheepishly as he crawled over to his sister's sleeping spot, though it wasn't too far away from his to begin with. With a kind smile the young woman beckoned her brother over to her spot as she sat with her back to her tree. Grinning like mad, Yoh clambered over to his sister, lying with his head on her lap after she got comfortable. Beginning to stroke her baby brother's chocolate brown hair, Yumi closed her eyes and began to softly sing the same song that she sang to him the night she left.

_You think I'm an ignorant savage,__  
__And you've been so many places,__  
__I guess it must be so,__  
__But still I cannot see,__  
__If the savage one is me,__  
__How can there be so much that you don't know?__  
__You don't know ..._

_You think you own whatever land you land on,_  
_The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim,_  
_But I know every rock and tree and creature,_  
_Has a life, has a spirit, has a name,_

_You think the only people who are people,_  
_Are the people who look and think like you,_  
_But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger,_  
_You'll learn things you never knew you never knew,_

_Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon,_  
_Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?_  
_Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?_  
_Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?_  
_Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?_

_Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest,_  
_Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth,_  
_Come roll in all the riches all around you,_  
_And for once, never wonder what they're worth,_

_The rainstorm and the river are my brothers,_  
_The heron and the otter are my friends,_  
_And we are all connected to each other,_  
_In a circle, in a hoop that never ends,_

_How high will the sycamore grow?_  
_If you cut it down, then you'll never know,_  
_And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon,_

_For whether we are white or copper skinned,_  
_We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains,_  
_We need to paint with all the colors of the wind,_

_You can own the Earth and still,_  
_All you'll own is Earth until,_  
_You can paint with all the colors of the wind._

As she was singing the young woman noticed that the other boys were listening as well, though she didn't really care because they were all put to sleep about half-way through along with Yoh, though the song was meant for them to fall asleep half-way through. Why, Yumi wasn't sure, but she knew that she and Zeke were the only ones to have ever stayed awake during the entire song.

How did she know that Zeke was able to stay awake?

Because that was him disappearing in a spiral of flame the moment her eyes were set on him after she finished her lullaby.

_And so I finally have a conversation with Zeke. Whoop-de-fucking-do. He's not that scary! Hell, he flinched when I glared at him! Oh well, I'll deal with him later. I'm still really disappointed with the boys for not picking up on the training today though. I was at least expecting Yoh and Lenny to pick it up after the first few hours. I can't really dwell on that too much, though; I was a bit harsh on them. Anyway, I've got a feeling that tomorrow is going to bring bad news, and I've got another sinking feeling that it has something to do with that pyromaniac Zeke. So, I need to catch my sleepy time._

**Night: -starts humming the Jaws theme-**

**Yoh: Why are you doing that?**

**Night: Because things are going to get really interesting from this point on!~ I'm going to give a plate of cookies to anyone who can guess how this is going to play out!~**

**Yoh: -gasp- Really!**

**Night: -nods happily- Yup! But, I don't know if anyone will ever guess it~ And yes, that was a challenge people!**

**Yoh: But you have to review in order to guess!**

**Night: So hit that button and REVIEW people REVIEW!**

**Yoh: xXNightly RainXx does not own the rights to **_**Colors of the Wind **_**either.**

**Yumi: The Songs in this chapter are:  
**_**Colors of the Wind**_** - Pocahontas**


	7. Snow and WHAT?

**-Yoh and Mayumi walk in without Night-**

**Yoh: -talks in hushed tone- Sorry about the wait, hopefully you all understand.**

**Yumi: -also in hushed tone- Night's asleep right now so that's why she's not here and we're talking like this.**

**Yoh: Yeah, she was really bad there for a while, that really shook her up.**

**Yumi: But she's better now for the most part, she has moments but they're not as bad or as frequent as they were before.**

**Yoh: She worked herself so hard on these chapters to make up for the time that she missed updates and she's really sorry that the next chapter is shorter than most of her others.**

**Yumi: Yup, and she doesn't own _Shaman King_ either!**

**Yoh: Since this is a double-update there won't be anything after this chapter or at the beginning of the next.**

**Yoh & Yumi: Enjoy!**

* * *

_So the group all woke up after me the next morning. Actually I let them sleep in a lot since they were really tired from the training yesterday. After I thought about it, it did do them some good by giving them some extra definition in their arms. Once the boys were finished with breakfast, leftover meat from last night, we packed up and hit the road once more. The boys thought that I was going to have them walk on their hands again, but I stopped them and told them to wait until we got to the other side of the mountain range. It was a good thing I did that too; a blizzard hit us once we got closer to the top of the mountains. Hopefully Lyserg's dousing ability will get us through the day to come, though he doesn't exactly seem confident in himself right now. Oh joy._

Lyserg was going to douse again once the snowstorm eased up a little, but that didn't make Yumi any more comfortable. _"You never did like the snow."_ Ryoushiame appeared next to the woman in his gryphon form. "Damn right about that. If it wasn't for this cloak that I got at the last town I would have to use my Furyoku to keep myself warm." the now-eighteen-year-old woman pulled at the black long-sleeved cloak covering her white t-shirt and cargo shorts. The woman's hair had grown a bit since the start of the group's journey; now the brown locks tickled the base of her neck and completely covered her ears, though her red bangs were beginning to get in her line of vision. "You don't like the snow Yumi? How come?" Trey sounded like the woman had just killed his best friend. "The snow's too cold, the desert's too hot, I would rather live in a nice secluded house in the forest any day." Mayumi sighed in contentment as she pictured her perfect home.

"A forest would be awesome right now, they're flat." Yoh was whining a little at the aspect of crossing a mountain range. "You're just being lazy as always." Lenny sighed as the group stopped for the green-haired shaman to douse once more. _"I don't think that will be necessary, there are many shaman heading in the same direction that we are. As long as we continue the way we are headed we should be going in the right direction."_ Ryoushiame commented, having just flown ahead. "Really? So after we get out of these mountains we'll be going in the right direction! Yes!" Yoh and Yumi were dancing for joy at the thought of getting off of the mountains. "Then what are we waiting for! Double time boys!" Yumi exclaimed as the group began to march forward once more, though this time it was at a more excited pace.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

"Yee-hah! Watch me catch some major air!" Trey was currently getting the best out of the winter environment by snowboarding down the slopes on each side of the traveling group of friends. However he was a bit rusty and fell, rolling down the hill in a snowball. "Will someone please keep him on a leash?" Len growled as the Ainu crashed into the opposite wall. Biting back a perverted comment, Yumi kept walking alongside her younger brother. "Next time I wanna shred in the middle of a blizzard, remind me not to." the snow shaman sneezed and shivered as he walked behind the group. "Is that a frozen luggie or nose jewelry?" Rio's comment made the lone woman look at Trey's nose and that made her snicker at the poor boy's discomfort. "Ok listen up everyone, even though we're going the right way if we don't find shelter soon it won't matter." Yoh sounded very serious, and Yumi knew that he was right. _"A few more minutes outside and you'll end up like those snowmen."_ Amidamaru spoke up and pointed to five tall 'snowmen' in the middle of the road. Yoh laughed at the mention, but Yumi was concerned and ran over to the five. "Correction! Snow-women!" the female of the group exclaimed, revealing the face of Sharona beneath the snow.

The boys screeched at the sight of the Lily Five snowwomen and rushed to get them to someplace warm. Ryoushiame and Amidamaru rushed to find a cave and the samurai was back within a minute, proceeding to lead the group to a cave guarded by the gryphon. Once inside Yumi built a fire, having carried extra wood in her pack from the night before; and soon the five girls were thawed out and warming in front of the fire.

"Thanks for thawing me out." the youngest one was probably the most polite of the group as far as Yumi was concerned. "Please it was nothing—" but Rio was cut off when she directed the thanks to Lyserg. "Maybe if you girls dressed for the weather instead of the runway we wouldn't have to save your butts." as much as she didn't get along with him at times, Yumi agreed with Trey. "But Sharona said that we, like, had to look good or we'll never win the tournament." the girl who appeared to be the youngest's older sister pointed out. When the girls started to argue, the eldest woman cut in with a hand raised to silence them. "Looking good has nothing to do with winning the tournament. It won't matter what you look like if you die before you even get there. Besides, if we hadn't of come along then you all would be dead because of your clothing. I suggest that next time you take that into consideration." Yumi did not go easy on the girls, and a few of them looked away in embarrassment.

"Well since we're all headed the same way here's an idea, travel with us." Yoh suggested happily, causing the youngest to gasp in happiness and Trey and Len to question his sanity. While the group argued the woman's senses were elsewhere, there were very strong shaman nearby and Yumi was certain that it was Zeke and his group. When Lyserg's pendulum shot in the direction of the Furyoku, the woman's suspicions were confirmed. "It must be him!" the green-haired shaman exclaimed as he jumped up and ran after Chloe towards Zeke and his group. "Lyserg no! Wait!" Yumi tried in vain to stop the boy as she ran after him. The rest of the group raced after the pair, though no one was able to stop the green-haired boy before he exited the cave. The boys bickered for a moment before they noticed Zeke and his group, but it went unnoticed by Lyserg and Mayumi, their attention was focused solely on the boy in front of them.

"I knew that I sensed an evil darker than any force on Earth, which meant it could only be you Zeke! I've been waiting for a long time for this day to come, and now that it's here!" Lyserg was consumed by his anger as he stood ready to fight the fire shaman. Zeke looked over at Yumi and gave her a smirk, though her only response was to narrow her eyes in disgust, she would die before she sank as low as to join up with him. Shaking his head in disappointment the pyromaniac proceeded to try and convince Yoh to join him, though Yumi's brother was quick to say otherwise. As Zeke turned to walk away, Lyserg snapped and attacked him. What happened next was so fast that Yumi didn't know how she reacted. One minute she was watching Lyserg's pendulum attacking Zeke, the next the pyromaniac was swinging his Spirit of Fire sword at the boy, and finally she was standing in front of Lyserg, taking the hit full on.

"YUMI!" Yoh screamed as his sister was struck, but the minute that he started screaming Zeke closed off the barrier that kept the storm out. The boys and the Lily Five were forced out into the blizzard once more as the woman faltered under the blade. "That was a risky move, Yumi; you of all people should know that your body won't be conscious much longer." Zeke's tone was lost on the woman as her vision began to blur. "Fuck you Zeke." Mayumi growled in defiance as she struggled to stay in control of her body. It wasn't a minute later that the brunette boy slung the woman over his shoulder and continued to walk with his group. Yumi struggled weakly at first, but it wasn't three seconds before she was out cold, her body not being able to handle the stress of the previous blow any longer.

For the first time in her life, Mayumi Asakura was a prisoner.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

**With the boys**

"NO! We have to go after Yumi! Let me go Rio!" Yoh was struggling under the older male's hold as the group went back into the cave. "Yoh! There is nothing that we can do for her now! Your sister is a strong woman and she will be FINE! So calm yourself!" Lenny screamed at the youngest Asakura, making him stop his tantrum. Yoh closed his eyes and let out a sigh, relaxing to a point where Rio felt that it was alright to let him go. "I'm sorry guys, that was just…" the boy couldn't even finish his sentence before he hit the ground in frustration, tears flowing from his eyes. "We can assume that Zeke wants Miss Yumi for something, so he wouldn't hurt her, would he?" Rio looked at the woman's things that she left behind, along with Ryoushiame. _"I'm not sure what Zeke wants from her, though I doubt that he would harm her. Especially if he wants Yoh to come over to his side."_ the gryphon was on the ground in his spirit ball form, flanked by Amidamaru and Bason for comfort. "He'd better not." Yoh's words meaning was true in all of the conscious boy's hearts; they were going to kill Zeke if he hurt Yumi in any way.

"Why didn't you girls ditch us too?" Trey asked the green-haired girl as well as the youngest girl who had stayed when the rest of their group went with Zeke. "Um, no reason. Lyserg! You're awake!" the little one exclaimed once the boy opened his eyes. The group began to argue about whether or not Zeke was beatable, with Lyserg being the only one saying that it was impossible. After a good five minutes of arguing, the group went to sleep in order to wait out the blizzard. _'Hold on sis, we're going to come for you and save you, no matter what happens!'_

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

**The next morning**

With the storm gone and the path clear, the group began to head up the mountain once more. Intent on following the river, Yoh began to lead the group of shaman and spirits only to be stopped by the green-haired girl who was looking at the top of the mountain with her spirit control. "What is it?" the little one asked, tugging at the older girl's skirt. Projecting an image, the girl showed Zeke and his group at the top of the mountain. After learning of Zeke's plan to melt the ice and wash away the weak shaman the group didn't stop to think about helping the other shaman ahead of them, but behind Zeke. With Rio stopping the river and Trey, Lenny, and Lyserg backing him up, the group was able to save all of the shaman that were caught in the flood caused by Zeke. Everyone except Yoh was celebrating. He had seen his sister unconscious and slung over Zeke's shoulder in the green-haired girl's projection, and he wasn't happy about it at all.

**Later that night with Zeke's group**

"Master Zeke, why do we have the lady coming with us?" Opacho asked her leader as they sat on the edge of a cliff with Yumi lying across Zeke's lap. "She is my elder sister, Opacho, I want her to be with me when I create the Shaman Only world." Zeke smiled affectionately at the young girl as he stroked the hair of his still unconscious elder sister, content for the time being.


	8. Wake and Escape

It had been three days since Yumi had been taken away from her brother and their friends by Zeke when she protected Lyserg and she hadn't woken up yet. "Master Zeke, shouldn't Miss Yumi be waking up soon?" Opacho asked the brunette boy innocently. "If she doesn't wake up in the next few minutes then I will be forced to wake her up myself so that she can eat. She'll die if she doesn't." the pyromaniac said calmly, watching Yumi rest on a cloth next to his sitting form as the sun rose into the sky. The trio was currently camping alone on the edge of a desert canyon; the rest of the group was headed towards Dobi Village without them at Zeke's order. Three minutes passed before the woman began to stir, her eyes opening slowly in order to take in her unfamiliar surroundings. "Miss Yumi is waking now Master Zeke!" Opacho's head entered the woman's direct line of vision, blocking the sun completely.

Eyes widening in surprise and recognition, Yumi leapt off the ground and away from the pair. What she didn't plan on was the cliff being so close to where she had been lying before. With one foot on the edge of the cliff, Mayumi tried in vain to keep her balance and to not fall into the canyon below. After a small chuckle Zeke stood up and grabbed the edge of his sister's cloak and pulled her away from the edge of the cliff to land face down on her sleeping mat. "Why the heck did you bring me here Zeke?" Yumi growled angrily as she turned her head to give the boy her worst death glare. "Is it so bad that I wanted to spend time with my big sister?" the boy laughed as woman righted herself and sat up, wincing now that her adrenaline was gone. "You shouldn't have blocked my attack like that Yumi, you could have been hurt much worse if I hadn't lessened my attack right before I hit you." Zeke scolded when he saw the wince. "And let you kill Lyserg, no. I won't stand around and watch as you kill people and shaman Zeke." Mayumi retorted, but fell silent as her stomach let out a loud rumble.

"It seems as if someone is hungry. Opacho, will you grab Yumi's breakfast for her please?" the boy called to the young girl, who nodded happily and grabbed a packet by the fire. "Here's your breakfast Miss Yumi! Opacho made it herself!" the young girl said excitedly as she held out the breakfast package for the woman to take. Hazel eyes softened at the innocent girl's gesture as Yumi accepted the food from Opacho. "You can just call me Yumi, Opacho, no need to be so formal." the woman smiled at the young girl, who nodded eagerly in return. The three shaman were quiet as the woman ate what food she was given, though she was also contemplating how she was going to get away from her brother without Ryoushiame. _'If I had only fallen off the cliff earlier then I wouldn't be having this problem. Then again he would have just followed me with the Spirit of Fire and I would have to run on an empty stomach. I'll have to gather my strength before I make my escape. The fact that he can't read my mind is clearly in my favor as well.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she ate, polishing the food off in record time.

"So you address Opacho with love and respect, yet you scorn me. Why is that sister?" Zeke asked with a pouty tone and expression once his sister was finished. "Because she's cute, you kidnapped me, and you are trying to kill Yoh." the woman retorted as she tossed her trash into the fire, burning it to ash instantly. "Well I'm not trying to _kill_ him; I'm trying to take back what belongs to me." the pyromaniac replied, turning to face the woman. "You're trying to take him away from the ones who love him, you are trying to screw up everyone's lives just so _you_ can be happy! You only think about yourself Zeke and that pisses me off!" Mayumi sent the boy a glare that made him back up a little. Zeke was silent for a few minutes, Opacho watched as his face went from shock to anger in less than a second. In an instant the boy's hand was around Mayumi's throat, and he was pinning her larger form to the hard ground in complete anger.

"You will bow to my wishes sister, I know who you really are and that is the only reason that you are still alive. Now, if you want to be able to stay conscious for more than your meals ever day, you will learn to not talk-back to me." the anger in Zeke's voice had no effect on the woman as she never ceased her glare. "Go back to hell. You are not my brother, he died years ago." Yumi growled back, her pupils going from circles to slits in less than a second. Before she could strike him, Zeke knocked the woman back into unconsciousness and made his way back to the fire with Opacho, leaving Yumi on the ground not a half-foot away from the canyon edge. "Come Opacho, we need to pay a visit to Yoh and his little group of friends." Zeke's voice was free of any anger as he spoke, gaining a smile from the young girl as the pair disappeared in a pillar of flames.

Yumi's unconscious form was left unattended at the campsite; unable to move or catch herself against the gust of wind that sent her off of the edge of the canyon edge.

**With the boys**

"I guess I did have fun!" Lyserg smiled at the woodland spirits as the boys were all covered in mud from their earlier 'battle.' All of the boys began to laugh with the spirits because of all of the fun that they had. However it all had to come to an end.

"Recess is now over kids! Spirit of Fire, attack!" Zeke and the Spirit of Fire came out of nowhere and captured a handful of the woodland spirits. "Yoh, I'm getting impatient with your progress. So to get you to focus on finding Dobi Village, I'm going to get rid of some of these distractions." the pyromaniac held a careless tone as the spirits began to catch fire and burn to their deaths. "You're too laid-back, so you need someone to light a fire under you." Zeke stated calmly as the screams of the spirits filled the ears of the group of boys. As the boys finally hit their breaking point and went into attack mode, one of the spirits told them to stop. "Shaman no! His guardian ghost is too brutal! If you try to fight him, he will destroy you!" the male spirit warned. "Then we'll destroy him!" Lyserg countered as he stood in his attack position. "No it's not possible! Zeke is too powerful!" the same spirit pleaded to reason with the boys as they readied to attack.

"Yoh that little spirit is right, you would be wise to take his advice. Consider this a warning, and know, I'll be watching." Zeke said once more before turning to leave. "Wait just a minute Zeke! I want my sister back! Give Yumi back right now!" Yoh screamed at the brunette as the Spirit of Fire turned to leave. "I don't think I will, maybe that will be some motivation for you as well Yoh. The faster you get to Dobi Village, the faster you see your sister." Zeke called as he continued to fly away on his guardian spirit, soon leaving the boys sight. _'I'll get you back sis, just you wait!'_ Yoh thought to himself as the boys came out of their stances. _'Mistress Mayumi, please be safe.'_ Ryoushiame thought pleadingly to himself as he watched in anger as Zeke flew away.

**With Yumi**

The world was spinning for the pained woman. She had been jerked from her state of unconsciousness the moment that the left side of her body had smacked against the canyon floor, though she had been unable to move for a matter of minutes. _'I have to get as far away from this place as I can. The moment Zeke gets back and finds me gone he will throw a fit and I do not want to be on the receiving end of it if he finds me.'_ Yumi flinched when she was forced to place weight on her left side. The woman had been able to assess the damage done to her body fairly quickly once she had regained her right state of mind; her entire left side had taken the brunt of her fall so most of the bones on that side of her body were either broken or fractured, though she could guess that she had bumped her right side against the rocks on her way down because there were broken and fractured bones on her right side as well. Her entire body was full of scratches and gashes from her fall, ones that bled profoundly as she tried to find a place to rest for the night.

Yumi had made it out of the canyon and to the outskirts of a forest by following the river at the bottom, though it would have taken her a considerable less amount of time to do so if she had been well. Leaning up against a tree once she got further into the forest, the woman sank to the ground next to it and closed her eyes in a small amount of relief, though she couldn't let her guard down for a second in case Zeke decided to come looking for her. _'This is just great, I certainly hope that someone friendly finds me instead of that bastard. But it will be my luck that I have to heal myself.'_ Mayumi thought bitterly to herself as she let out a sigh of frustration. However she was brought back to be fully alert not an instant later.

A twig had snapped less than ten feet to her right.

Knowing that she couldn't defend herself in her current condition, Yumi swung her head over in the direction of the snap, waiting for the person or animal to show themselves.

However the person that walked through the brush surprised the woman just as much as she surprised him.

"Father?" Yumi croaked out that single word weakly before falling into a state of unconsciousness once more, her bloodied form falling into the arms of the man that was her father.

_So I found myself with Zeke, yeah that was fun. But I guess that my getaway could have been worse. I mean, if Father hadn't been there I might have fallen asleep in the forest and that pyromaniac could have found me again. I need to sleep, I'm so tired…_

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**-both are still talking in hushed tones-**

**Yumi: Well there you have it!**

**Yoh: Hopefully things will be back on track now as well.**

**-sleepy Night walks in-**

**Night: What's going on guys?**

**Yumi: -gasps- We didn't wake you up did we!**

**Yoh: -whines- We're sorry!**

**Night: No, I just woke up...ACHOO!**

**Yoh: You're not getting sick are you!**

**Night: NO! I won't get sick!**

**Yumi: ...Night is also feeling a bit under the weather.**

**Yoh & Yumi: So hit that button and REVIEW people!**

**Night: I'M NOT SICK! -goes back to bed-**


	9. Healing and Secrets

**Night: Hello there everyone~**

**Yoh & Yumi: Hi!**

**Night: Just so you all know, I'm getting a little impatient with the lack of reviews. I mean, I know for a fact that Venas was not the only person who read the last chapter and yet they were the only one to review! Please people, it isn't that hard to review someone elses work and, as motivated as I already am to write this story, I really like to know what people think of my story. So Review! I don't want to have to put a number on each chapter as to how many reviews I want before I'll update, but if I have to, I just might have to.**

**Yumi: -whispers- And if you think that the boss lady's kidding, you are dead wrong.**

**Yoh: -whispers- Yeah, what they said.**

**Night: So anyway, here's the next installment, as filler-y as it may be, it sets up the rest of the story.**

**Yoh & Yumi: Night doesn't own _Shaman King_.**

**Yumi: But she does own me and Ryoushiame. As wierd as that sounds.**

**Night: -pats Yumi on the head- But you love me for it! Enjoy people!~**

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**With Zeke and Opacho**

"HOW IN THE HELL DID SHE GET AWAY! SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS!" the pyromaniac had gotten back to the camp late that night and had not been happy when his sister wasn't there. "Master Zeke, maybe Mistress Mayumi fell over the edge of the canyon? She was close to it when we left." Opacho spoke her opinion softly but confidently, Zeke wouldn't hurt her and she knew it. Walking over to the edge of the canyon Zeke could see where the woman had laid before the pair left in his mind's eye and calculated what it would have taken for her to fall. _'Not much in her state, dammit, if she fell and got hurt I would never forgive myself!'_ Zeke growled as he summoned the Spirit of Fire to investigate.

When the two got to the bottom of the canyon they found a considerable amount of dried human blood near the rock face, making the boy curse softly. After a moment the fire shaman found a steady trail of the same blood moving towards the exit of the canyon, signifying that Yumi had regained consciousness and was trying to get away. "Come on Opacho, we're going to find her and bring her back." Zeke spoke in a monotone as he began to walk at a brisk pace in the direction that the blood led him. Nodding happily the young girl easily kept up with him.

It didn't take long for the duo to reach the edge of the forest, much faster than it would have taken Mayumi; Zeke knew that much by the amount of blood that she had lost. Gritting his teeth in frustration with himself, the fire shaman continued to follow the blood trail until it came to an end at the base of a tree. Zeke didn't bother to check the treetops, if his sister still had the strength to climb up a tree there would have been a blood trail there as well, though the shaman knew that with the amount of blood that she had lost, it was a miracle that Yumi had made it this far. "Master Zeke, why does the trail end here?" Opacho questioned innocently. "Someone must have found her and bandaged her wounds before taking her away; the blood trail would have gone further otherwise." Zeke stated calmly, though he was fuming in his thoughts.

"Come on Opacho, it is useless to continue to stand here. We're re-joining the others." the fire shaman stated curtly, summoning the Spirit of Fire to take them back. _'Mark my words sister; this is not the last that you will hear of me, not by a long shot.'_ Zeke thought to himself, taking one last long look at the tree where his sister had rested hours before.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

**With Mikihisa**

It had been a few hours since the man had found his daughter an inch from death and he was still very upset. Looking at the woman in his arms once more Mikihisa checked her health: nearly every bone on her left side had been broken, most of the bones on her right were either stressed or fractured, and her body was covered in gashes that had ceased bleeding once he bound them. _'What on Earth happened to you my daughter? I had hoped that it would have been on better terms that we reunited.'_ the masked man sighed through his mask as he made his way to his base.

Less than ten minutes later Mikihisa was setting Mayumi onto the couch in his temporary American home and gathering the limited medical supplies that he had in stock. The man was not a trained medic but he knew the basics and he hoped profoundly that those skills would be enough to help make his daughter comfortable until he could get a professional to take a look at her. Mikihisa removed the crude bandages that he had come up with when he first found his daughter and replaced them with the white cloth inside of his first aid kit, cleaning out the gashes as best he could as he went along. As he redressed Yumi's wounds the father realized that he would have to re-break some of her bones in order for them to heal correctly, namely her left leg, which was nearly completely shattered. Mikihisa also realized that he would have to put both of her dislocated shoulders back in place while she was unconscious.

Taking a deep breath the man set to work on his daughter's bones, not failing to notice the grimaces that furthered the pained expression on Mayumi's face. Thankfully the woman did not wake as her shoulders were put back into place and her bones were re-broken, and Mikihisa was eternally grateful of that small fact. Stepping back at last the man noticed the small rays of light coming from the east; he had worked on his daughter's condition through the remainder of the night and only then did he realize his exhaustion. _'Mayumi has strengthened significantly since she left us three years ago, the girl that left my home then would not have survived this. I'm going to have to keep my eyes on her even after she wakes up. She may not even continue in the Tournament.'_ Mikihisa thought to himself as he retrieved the sleeping mat from his room and moved it to where his daughter currently rested.

Setting the futon on the floor so that he had a clear view of his daughter and would know if she woke, the man went to sleep for the remainder of the day.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

_It had been three days since Mikihisa fixed Mayumi's bones before she showed signs of waking. At the time that she did wake her father was nowhere in sight, having gone to check-up on Zeke and Yoh's group. The boys had just lost Lyserg to the X-Laws the night before and were currently asleep on the outskirts of a town in the direction that they had been headed due to the green-haired shaman's dousing ability. Zeke was once again separated from his followers with Opacho to check up on his twin brother and to see if he could locate his elder sister. Anna and Morty were on their way to America with the Tome of the Shaman in their possession, Faust was also accompanying them._

The sun was just peeking through the window of Mikihisa's living room, its rays falling onto the face of Mayumi Asakura. Most of her minor wounds had completely healed while the major gashes were scaring up and her broken bones were healing nicely so she wasn't in much pain at the moment. Thought that was also due to the fact that her father had forced pain pills down her throat with the liquefied food he had been feeding her for the past three days. However much her health was improving, she didn't have a very good chance of competing in the Shaman Tournament at the level that she had been at before.

Moments after the first rays hit her eyes, Yumi began to squint and groan in pain and tiredness. Eyes slitting open just enough to examine her surroundings, the woman found herself clothed in unfamiliar garments, covered with a light blanket, lying on an unfamiliar couch, in an unfamiliar room, and in an unfamiliar house. Scanning the room Yumi spotted her father's female guardian spirit, Imari, curled up by the doorframe dosing off. "Imari?" it sickened the woman to know that the weak-sounding straggly voice was hers, only furthering to define her weakened state. The white-and-red fox perked up at her master's daughter's voice and trotted over to the couch in order to check the woman over. _"You shouldn't move or speak too much Mistress Mayumi, save your strength for healing yourself. Master Mikihisa, your father, is out checking on Yoh and his friends along with Zeke. If you want you can wait until he returns to tell what happened to you."_ Imari had always had a soft spot for Yumi.

"I will wait. Please wake me when he returns Imari, he needs to know what happened." Yumi's voice was weak and she had to pause to catch her breath often even for how little she spoke. _"Of course Mistress, now please rest. I will be here to watch over you until your father returns."_ the fox's voice calmed the shaman into falling back into a deep sleep. _'She works herself so hard.'_ Imari shook her head before walking back to her previous position, except this time she was going to stay away in case Mikihisa and Shigaraki got back or if Mayumi woke up again.

Why was she on guard duty again?

'_All because Shigaraki said that he was a better fighter, not a better guard. That bastard just wanted to get out of the house instead of guarding the Mistress. Lazy ass.'_ the kitsune thought bitterly as she curled back up by the doorframe.

It was another half hour before Mikihisa and Shigaraki returned home to find Yumi still sound asleep and Imari curled up next to the doorframe feigning sleep. "How is she Imari?" the masked man asked in a hushed tone, keeping his unseen eyes on the woman sleeping soundly on his couch. _"She woke for a few minutes, though she went right back to sleep after she saw me. She wanted me to wake her once you returned so that she could tell you what happened. Mistress Mayumi made it clear that you need to know what happened."_ the fox spirit stated as she uncurled and walked over to the sleeping woman. "No, let her sleep. I will wake her when her food is ready." Mikihisa whispered before the fox could touch his daughter. _"Very well."_ Imari responded as she went over to her corner and disappeared to get some well-deserved rest.

"Let me know if Mayumi wakes before I get back, but do not wake her, she needs her rest." the father ordered his raccoon spirit, Shigaraki, before walking into the kitchen. Grumbling something under his breath the raccoon spirit sat across from the couch where Mayumi was resting peacefully. _'That girl, no, woman sure got herself into a pickle this time. I wonder what really happened to her.'_ Shigaraki thought to himself as the smell of Mikihisa cooking reached his sensitive nostrils.

The man had decided to prepare solid food for his daughter today since she had already woken up and spoken to Imari. After careful consideration, Mikihisa had begun to make one of the woman's favorite childhood breakfasts; blueberry pancakes with peanut butter, strawberries, and maple syrup. The masked shaman had time to think about how much his daughter had grown up since she had left his home three years before, how she and Yoh had both grown up so fast. _'It seems like just yesterday that Yumi stopped Yoh's crying on his first birthday, but in reality it has been twelve years. Even worse, those two hold the weight of the world on their shoulders with Zeke returning for the Shaman Tournament.'_ Mikihisa thought grimly as he finished preparing his daughter's breakfast. Just as he was about to head out to the living room, Shigaraki was standing in the doorway informing him that Yumi was waking up again.

A minute later the young woman was awake and eating her food with a newfound passion. Well, as much as she could with her body in the condition that it was in. After she was halfway through with her food Yumi stopped eating and looked at her father, leaning back into the soft couch to ease her sore body. "What happened to you my daughter? I thought that you were going to die." to anyone else the father's voice would seem to be unemotional and careless, but the woman knew that her father wasn't very good with conveying his emotions. "I'll use the short-and-sweet version instead of the long version. I was traveling with the boys through the mountains, we had a confrontation with Zeke, he attacked one of the boys, and I jumped in front of the attack and got captured. I woke up three days later to find myself alone with Zeke and Opacho on the edge of a canyon, refused his offer to join him, got knocked out before he left, somehow fell over the edge of the canyon, woke up just as my left side hit the ground, walked out of the canyon, found you." Mayumi kept her sentences brief and to the point since she was still very weak and needed to conserve her energy.

"I see, can I assume that Zeke knows who you really are?" Mikihisa asked carefully after a few moments of letting the information sink in. Yumi's red bangs covered her eyes completely, partially blocking the pained expression on the woman's face and completely hiding the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "Yes. He knows." the woman's voice was very quiet when she spoke, both because of the physical and emotional pain that she was going through. Her father sighed, they had known that Zeke would probably figure out the truth sooner than later, but he had never wanted his daughter to be found out by the madman.

No, he had never wanted her to get hurt like this, not in infinite lifetimes would he ever want to see his darling baby girl hurt like this.

'_Zeke, I will make you pay for what you have done to my family. I will not have you harming my children like this anymore. When the opportunity arises, I will finish what Yohmei started the night that you were born.'_ Mikihisa's determined look was lost beneath his mask as the first tears escaped the eyes of his eldest child and only daughter.

_It's been three days since I was able to get away from Zeke, and six days since I've seen the boys. I hope that they're pulling through alright, but knowing Yoh he'd want to come after me. The other boys must have talked some sense into him otherwise this would be a completely different situation. Ryoushiame should be holding up, we thought that something like this might happen and we decided that he would stay with the boys if I was captured. That doesn't make it any easier though. Why the hell did I have to fall of a freaking cliff again? Stupid Zeke, of all places to camp out you pick the side of a freaking canyon and leave me unconscious on the edge while you go and pay my baby brother a visit! I'll knock some sense into him next time. Well, time for me to hit the hay, I'm still pretty weak and I need my sleep. Stay strong little brother, I'm safe now, and I'll see you again soon. I promise._

* * *

**Night: Dun, dun, duuuuuunnnnnnnnnn...**

**Yoh: What does that mean? What does Zeke know that we don't!**

**Yumi: -has ducktape over her mouth-**

**Yoh: WHY DOES SHE HAVE DUCKTAPE OVER HER MOUTH!**

**Night: So she doesn't spill any of her secrets just yet! -happy face-**

**Yumi: -glares at Night-**

**Night: Don't forget to review people! Hit that little button and send me your feedback!~**

**Yoh: Review!**

**Yumi: -tries to say 'review' but is muffled by the ducktape-**


	10. Secret Revealed

**Night: -is royally pissed off-**

**Yumi: You all went and did it now didn't you?**

**Yoh: You didn't review.**

**Night: Once again, I didn't get a lot of reviews. Is it really that hard to hit one f***ing button and say **_**"Awesome story! Please update soon!"**_** I mean come ON people! It takes one minute tops to leave a simple review!**

**Yumi: Please review this time people, the Boss Lady won't move the storyline along until you all start to review. It's just her little way of making you all stop being so lazy and review.**

**Yoh: Do you know how much she puts into this? She could very easily be putting this story off in order to do the college homework that she needs to be doing. But Night is taking the time out of her day to entertain all of you people who are reading this. So please at least let her know what you think of her story.**

**Night: Please, please, review this time. I'm really starting to lose my patience with this. -leaves cookies out for the reviewers that she KNOWS are coming this time and hands a batch to Venas and Taeniaea-**

**Yoh & Yumi: Night does not own **_**Shaman King**_** and she is not making any profit off of this story.**

**Yumi: But she does own me and Ryoushiame.**

**All Three: Enjoy~**

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_It's been a good week since I woke up in father's home near Dobi Village. He's been keeping me updated on the boy's progress as well as what Zeke's group is up to. I guess that Anna and Morty are heading over here in order to give Yoh the _Tome of the Shaman_ as well, not that I need to look into that thing, I already know all about Zeke's powers and I don't need to be sucked into his book to prove it. My injuries have been healing nicely, slower than I would like, but they're better than they were eight days ago. Most of my scratches have healed up, though I have major scarring on my left arm and stomach area. The bones in my arms have healed, though they are still weak and very tender to the touch so I need to be extra careful. I guess that the worst part is my legs, mainly my left one, my right leg has healed up for the most part but my left is still giving me major problems. I am able to walk around for about three minutes tops and I need to have some sort of support, which isn't easy since my arms are still really weak, I can't put any weight on my left leg, and I can hardly put any on my right. So, I'm basically confined to the couch unless I can convince father to let my attempt walking around. Joy._

'_When I see Zeke again, I'm going to kill him.'_ to say that Mayumi was angry would be a complete understatement, the woman was royally pissed off. Not being able to do a thing all day long for a week straight would put any person in a bad mood and the female shaman was not a good patient to begin with. "How do you feel this morning?" Mikihisa walked into the living room after he had woken up that morning and was met with a pillow in the face. "How the hell do you think that I feel? I'm hurting, unable to move, and I am bored out of my mind! I'm freaking pissed off and ready to smash some heads!" Yumi growled threateningly at her father as he recovered from the pillow throw. "I know that it is frustrating, but you must bear with this if you are to compete in the Shaman Tournament." the man tried to reason with his daughter as she began to rant. "Father, you know that I will not be strong enough to fight in the Tournament now. There is no use sugar-coating it; I'm out of the Tournament because I'm too weak to fight. All of the participants must be in Dobi Village within the next three weeks and I will not be back in fighting shape before then." the young woman growled, knowing that her father already knew that.

"I was just trying to make you feel better." Mikihisa replied, though he wasn't really sure as to what to say to his daughter. The pair was silent as the father brought a plate of food over to his daughter so that she could eat, though she hardly touched the food since she had lost her appetite a few days ago. _"You need to eat Mistress Mayumi, you need your strength."_ Imari commented from the foot of the couch, she had been watching the young woman through the night as she didn't want her to be alone. "I know, Imari, I'm just not very hungry because I haven't been doing anything for the past week. I don't think that I could stomach any more food." Yumi didn't even attempt to correct her father's spirit with her name; she knew that both Imari and Shigaraki refused to call her by any nickname. "I am sorry that you got caught up in this my daughter, I don't know what else that I can do." Mikihisa sighed in defeat as he sat in a chair directly in front of the couch where his daughter was sitting. "Zeke would have found me wherever I would have been, it is nothing that anyone could have prevented." the woman replied calmly as she used her fork to poke at the eggs on her plate.

The group was silent as the woman continued to poke at the food on her plate, occasionally taking some into her mouth to eat. "So what is Yoh up to?" Yumi tried to start up a conversation in order to end the awkward silence that had overtaken the room. "Well, Lyserg left the group and joined the X-Laws a little while ago because he wants to focus on killing Zeke. When the group got into the next town they met up with another shaman named Joco, his guardian spirit is a jaguar named McJagger or something like that. Apparently he is a comedian, though the group doesn't think that he's very funny." the father began to describe the new boy. Yumi giggled at the thought, imagining Lenny and Trey beating the poor guy up because of his bad jokes. "Well, Lyserg has to choose his own path, but I don't approve of him joining up with the X-Laws. Those guys are even worse than Zeke in my opinion." Yumi's voice was sad when she spoke of the green-haired shaman. "How is Ryoushiame? Is Yoh doing alright? Has the group come in contact with Zeke since the last time? And how are Anna and Morty?" the woman's questions were what she usually asked her father, wanting to know everything that was going on.

"Ryoushiame is doing fine, I was able to speak with him so he knows that you are alright and he will not mention it to the group. Yoh looks fine, but I'm sure that he is still very worried about you. The group has come into contact with Zeke's followers, but not the man himself since the last time. Anna and Morty have made it to the states and are traveling toward the group with June and Pai'Long, Faust, and Tammy, Ponchi, and Conchi. They should meet up with Yoh and the others in a few days as long as they don't run into any trouble." Mikihisa gave the cold, hard facts like his daughter wanted, knowing that it he beat around the bush she would just get angry. Mayumi was quiet for a moment while she processed the information that her father had given her, the fact that she wasn't there with her boys just hurt her heart more than it was already hurting. _'So they replaced Lyserg, but not me. I guess that they either turned someone down, or they haven't found someone yet. I don't really care either way; I won't be participating in the tournament anyway.'_ Yumi thought sadly to herself, casting a longing look at her weakened limbs and scarred flesh.

"I want to see them. I want to travel with them again. I know that I'm not going to be in the tournament, but I want to travel with them." the woman's voice was firm and unwavering, letting her father know that she was not going to be swayed. "I know that you do, but we should wait a few more days until you can use your Furyoku and can move around better. I know when Anna and the others will meet up with Yoh so I'll take you then." Mikihisa was careful with his words, making sure that his daughter knew that he wasn't disagreeing with her; he just wanted to let her know when he was alright with her leaving. "I understand. I know that I'll probably have to tell everyone the truth about me though, it won't stay hidden for much longer if Zeke has his way." Yumi said sadly, her eyes moving to the floor as she spoke.

The father didn't have to say anything about what his daughter had just said; he knew what she meant and wasn't going to open old wounds. "Just always remember, you are my daughter, Mayumi, nothing will ever change that. Your mother and I feel the same when it comes to this and even Yohmei and Kino agree with us. You will always be a part of this family." the masked man placed a light hand on his daughter's shoulder, letting her know that he loved her and would never let her go. "Thank you, father." the woman closed her eyes in a failed attempt to hold back the tears that began to flow down her face. Yumi leaned into her father's light embrace as she cried silently, her body jerking with every gasp that she stifled. Mikihisa put his arm around his daughter, bringing her close and stroked her hair lightly with his other hand, allowing her to cry and to eventually tire herself out and fall asleep in the process.

Once he was sure that his daughter was asleep, Mikihisa placed her back on his couch and covered her up with a blanket. _'Sleep well my beloved daughter, for this might be the last time that you get to rest easy for a long while.'_ the man thought to himself as he stood, nodding to Imari to watch her as he and Shigaraki vanished into the mid-morning sunshine to check up on the various groups headed towards Dobi Village.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

It had been a good three days since Mayumi had cried once more in front of her father, and she was more than ready to get out of the house and meet up with Yoh and the others. _'It will be good to see them all again, and now I can meet this Joco kid that father keeps mentioning. I hope that 'Ame isn't too upset with me.'_ the woman thought as she tested her strength. Her right leg could now bear the entirety of her weight and her left was nearly fully healed as well, while her arms were still very weak and she could not hold many objects at once. _'Though I should be able to handle my pack and bo staff, they aren't that heavy at all.'_ Yumi thought happily to herself as she got up from the couch and headed for the door. "I see that you're ready to leave already. Come and eat first, you know that you won't find them as fast as you would with me." Mikihisa called from the dining room, making the woman curse silently at his interference. "Yes father." the female shaman grumbled as she went into the other room.

When she walked into the room, Mayumi found her father already sitting at the table and eating a breakfast burrito, waiting for her to start on her own. Once the woman at down and began to eat Mikihisa sighed, causing Yumi to look over at him in suspicion. "What's going on father? Is there something that I should know about?" the woman questioned, narrowing her eyes as she finished her burrito. "Yoh and the boys went into the _Tomb of the Shaman_ last night and came out alright, but I have reason to believe that Zeke's followers will attack them again today. The X-Laws have also been keeping a close eye on the group." the father replied solemnly, his daughter not being able to read his expression behind his mask. "So that just means that we're going to have to hurry up and find them. I'm ready to go father." Yumi's eyes were shrouded by her red bangs as she stood from her chair and headed for the door.

Her trip was kept short however, as her legs gave out from under her and she fell into the arms of her father.

"Not so fast, Yumi, you still are not at full strength. I'll probably have to carry you until you get back to Ryoushiame." Mikihisa scolded lightly as he hoisted his daughter up onto his back. Grumbling in frustration and embarrassment, the woman buried her face into the back of her father's neck and promptly fell back to sleep. _'I will never get over how quickly her mood changes, I only hope that Yoh and the others accept her as well once they find out who she truly is.'_ the man thought to himself as he and his two guardian spirits left their home with his daughter in order to find his son and his friends.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

Mayumi was asleep for a few hours, and it took Mikihisa a while to find his son's group. When he did find them, however, Yoh, Rio, and Lenny were in the middle of a battle with three of Zeke's followers. _'And if that's not bad enough, Zeke and the X-Laws are watching the battle as well. We cannot come out into the open right now.'_ the masked man thought to himself as he hid himself and his daughter in a valley farther up the canyon. Not long after, Yumi woke to the sounds of the battle and Mikihisa was able to let her stand on her own two feet as they watched for the outcome.

It wasn't long before the three boys were able to defeat the three girls with Zeke, and Yumi was proud to say that her brother and his friends did an excellent job. However her celebration was short lived as the pyromaniac himself made his presence known to the group.

"You did well girls, thank you." Zeke put an extra emphasis on the 'thank you' as he spoke, earning a saddened reply from the oldest girl. "And as for you," the pyromaniac began to walk through Yoh's group in order to end up standing right next to his twin. "I saw your new powers, I have to admit that you handled them much better than I expected." Zeke gave a dark chuckle that made Yumi shiver, she had heard that same noise once before and it wasn't a good sound. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask for my other half back soon." the Asakura ancestor spoke darkly to his 'other half.' "Huh?" since no one had told him anything about his twin, Yoh was clueless as to what Zeke meant. "Oh, didn't you know? You and I are two halves of the same whole." Zeke left it at that as he began to walk away. "Wha, what did you say!" Yoh was horror-struck as he turned to try and get an answer out of the fire shaman. "We will meet again soon, my brother. And you should know that Mayumi means more to me than she does to you." Zeke turned as he and his followers disappeared in a blaze of fire, leaving the group gasping in disbelief, and Mikihisa and Yumi sighing in defeat.

"I had hoped that he wouldn't find out like this." the woman whispered as she leaned into her father's embrace, letting him hold her for a mere few seconds for comfort. "So did I, but we must go out and explain to them what happened the night that they were born. Are you ready, my daughter?" the man looked down at his daughter, who nodded in an affirmative manner. With that, while the group was distracted and questioning Yoh, the father made it to a rock and took a seat.

"I'm afraid it's no joke, though I wish it was." Mikihisa responded to Morty's questioning of Yoh. "That's right. Zeke and Yoh are twin brothers." the man continued sadly, earning a startled reaction from the group. "What did he mean by Yumi meaning more to him than to me!" Yoh questioned, desperate for an answer. "Is that his girlfriend or something?" the small boy with an afro questioned. It was then that Mayumi decided to make herself known. Walking, or more like limping, into sight, she spoke to the group sadly.

"I wish that it were that simple. What he meant by that, is that one thousand years ago, I was Zeke's elder sister."

* * *

**Yumi: FINALLY! I FINALLY SAID MY SECRET! XD**

**Yoh & Co.: -shell shocked and can't speak-**

**Night: -pats Yoh on the head- He'll get over it, eventually~**

**Yumi: Be sure to review now~ **

**Night: -in a threatening manner- You don't want another long wait do you?~**


	11. Fight, Past, and Family

**Night: You know what people, I give up. I freaking give up. If you review, then you get cookies. If you don't, I call you a jerk. I got two reviews, again, and only one of them was a new person. So thank you Venas and RoseblossomWarrior for your reviews, they are much appreciated. -hands each a plate of hot cookies of their choice-**

**Yoh: I still can't believe what you pulled! I had no idea!**

**Yumi: That was the point little brother~ -pats Yoh's head-**

**Night: I mixed up the timing a little just because I thought that this would work out better, but never fear, at the end is Yumi's past~ ^o^**

**Yoh & Yumi: Night doesn't own _Shaman King_ and is not making profit from this story.**

**Yumi: Though she does own me and 'Ame.**

**All: Enjoy~**

* * *

_Previously on Shaman King: The Third Asakura…_

"_Yoh, did he just say what I think he said? Was that, some kind of joke?" Morty asked his friend, who didn't say anything. "I'm afraid it is no joke, though I wish it was." Mikihisa spoke from his seated position on a rock, Mayumi was hidden behind the canyon wall. "Yes, Zeke and Yoh are twin brothers." the father spoke sadly. "HUH? TWIN BROTHERS!" the group exclaimed in unison. "And why should we believe you?" Lenny pointed his kwan dao at Mikihisa as he spoke. "Because that is Yoh's father." Rio bent over to speak on Len's level. "What, father?" breathed the Tao. "Yes, hi." Mikihisa's words caught the woman off-guard from her hiding place, nearly making her fall over. "This is going to be interesting." Yumi muttered to herself as she leaned against the canyon wall and watched as her father began to explain her brother's legacy._

"We thought long and hard about when we should tell you about Zeke. Yohmei, Keiko, Kino and myself all felt that we should not tell you too early." Mikihisa scratched the back of his head as he spoke. "Let's cut the small talk and get to the details." Lenny spoke, effectively cutting off anything that Trey was about to say. "Yeah, Dad I think that we're all kind of curious about this." Yoh's face held an emotion that Yumi couldn't describe. "Are you sure you want to know?" Mikihisa crossed his arms, though the woman knew that he really didn't want to tell her brother the truth. "You can't just bring up something and then drop it!" Lenny was in the father's face, hair growing in his annoyance. As Mikihisa began to retell what happened that night fourteen years ago, Yumi silently called to her guardian spirit to aid her. Responding to his shaman's Furyoku, Ryoushiame appeared by her side and lent her his strength. _"It must pain you to know that you have to tell your brother the truth in this manner, I am sorry that I could not prevent this moment." _the gryphon spirit spoke in a sad tone, eyes not meeting his shaman's. "Do not worry about it 'Ame, this day was bound to come eventually." Yumi reassured her partner as her father finished his tale.

"And that, my son, is both your birth story, and your legacy." Mikihisa finished, sitting on the rock once more. "Woah, heavy." Trey was nearly speechless when the man finished. "So Zeke and Yoh really are twins." Morty looked at the youngest Asakura along with the rest of the group. "Wow, bummer." Rio was the next to speak. "And I thought my sister was a pain!" the snow shaman tried to lighten the mood and failed miserably. "Yoh, if you want a little time alone to think this through, we understand." Morty was being sensible, Yumi always liked that about the small boy. "Yeah dude, you must be hurting. You've gotta be questioning everything you've ever known, I mean, you must feel like you're a totally different person." Trey spoke once more, further annoying the female shaman. "Nah, I feel exactly the same as I did before, except, maybe a little bit hungrier." Yumi smiled at her brother's reaction while Trey began to get mad. It was then that the boys started to debate on whether or not Yoh was evil, Joco being the head of the opposing argument. When Yoh spoke up about leaving the group and the others defended his staying, Yumi found that she could no longer remain in the shadows.

"Yoh, you are nothing like Zeke, and without your friends, you will not succeed in your journey. Besides, they would just follow you around anyway, they did nominate you to be the leader and all." the woman limped out of the shadows, startling everyone except for Mikihisa. "Yumi? Yumi, you're alright!" Yoh was skeptical at first, but he broke out into a huge grin once he saw his sister and raced to give her a hug. "Hold up a second Yoh! I'm not exactly in the best shape for big hugs quite yet." the woman was able to stop her brother not a moment too soon, him realizing then that she was injured and weak. "What happened! Did Zeke do this to you!" the boy cried, still hugging his sister but being careful at the same time. "I fell off a cliff after he went to see you three days after I was kidnapped. Father found me not too long after and I've been healing with him ever since." Mayumi gave her nervous smile as she spoke, the boys that she knew gave a startled yell. "FELL OFF A CLIFF! HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE YUMI!" Trey raced over and yelled in the woman's face. "I'm not really sure, I was injured very badly and I'm still really weak from the fall." the woman gave the trademark Asakura nervous laugh as she leaned on Yoh. "Umm, am I the only one who doesn't know who this chick is?" Joco spoke up, confused along with June and Faust. "Oh, hey there! I'm Mayumi Asakura, Yoh's older sister! But please call me Yumi." the woman laughed and scratched the back of her head as she introduced herself.

"Yoh, what's with Amidamaru? He looks like he's seen a ghost or something." Rio drew the group's attention away from Yumi and to the samurai spirit. "Amidamaru is undergoing some big changes. Because of the _Tomb_, he's evolving into a while new spirit level." Anna spoke up as she walked over to where Yoh and Yumi were standing. "Cool." Yoh stated before he made to walk over to his spirit along with his sister. "He should become more powerful now that your Furyoku has grown, but I don't know how long this is going to take." Yumi commented as she leaned on Yoh as they walked to Amidamaru. "That's awesome! Did Ryoushiame do something like this too?" the boy asked with his arm around his sister's waist to keep her upright.

Before the woman was able to respond, a bright light erupted from the canyon edge and the X-Laws showed up. "You should be more cautious." Marco spoke from the center of the light, causing the group to turn and gasp at the group. _"I am sorry, I was too distracted to sense them approaching."_ Amidamaru spoke sadly. "Nah, it's okay, you're allowed a sick day every six hundred years!" Yoh laughed, trying to make the ghost feel better. _"Thank you Yoh." _the samurai spirit smiled as he went back to evolving. "Don't be afraid, we're not here to fight! I just want to talk!" the small green one walked forward, Yumi immediately recognized Lyserg. "So it's true then, he really did join the X-Laws." the woman stated sadly, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Oh yeah, you haven't seen Lyserg since you saved him from Zeke only to get kidnapped yourself." Trey spoke, making the green-haired shaman take a step back in surprise. "Yumi? Is that really you? I can't believe it! You got away!" Lyserg exclaimed happily. "Only after falling off a cliff unconscious." the woman muttered darkly, making the boy flinch.

Marco and the other X-Laws were staring at the female shaman, looking like they just saw a ghost. "You, you can't be Mayumi Asakura! You're supposed to be dead!" the blonde X-Law exclaimed, drawing a dead-pan look from Yumi. "I can see how Zeke brought himself back to life, but I cannot believe that you of all people would want to come back as well! The only explanation is that you are with Zeke!" Marco exclaimed violently, sending the woman a glare that rivaled her own. "In your nightmares X-Law, I will never join Zeke." Yumi growled, sending Marco a glare of her own. "You all should join us! The Iron Maiden Jeanne, our great leader, has offered you a chance to redeem yourselves after you read Zeke's book. She is opening the Gate of Babylon as we speak and you will have great power. You need to decide what side you are on, are you with Zeke, or are you with us?" Lyserg interjected before Marco could speak again. "Zeke and I have almost nothing in common. But then you and I have nothing in common either. So no." Yoh spoke confidently as the green haired shaman's face went from pure joy to utter horror.

"Marco said that you would refuse to join the X-Laws! I told him that there was goodness in you, but I see now that you are tainted by evil." Lyserg scowled at the group. "Yeah, well you're not the first one to suggest that today. Listen Lyserg, you've known me as a friend, and you've seen how I use my powers. You've also seen how I've treated my buddies, and my enemies. So do you really think that I'm an evil follower of Zeke's?" Yoh directed his first comment to Joco, who cowered just a little. "I think what Jeanne thinks." the green haired shaman responded mechanically. "Well, I guess that if you can't trust yourself then you'll never be able to trust me. You know what I mean?" Yoh commented, receiving a relieved sigh from the dark skinned boy. "So, I guess that you're gonna attack us now? Though I'd prefer it if we could talk about it over fries and milkshakes!" the young Asakura laughed, making his sister smirk and give a huff of amused air. "Nice try Yoh, but I believe that the X-Laws prefer smacks over snacks." Lenny was as baffled as the others at the youngest Asakura's comment.

"Aw, dude, Kori and I are set to go." Trey took a position in front of the siblings. "Amidamaru is not ready for battle, is he?" Rio looked over his shoulder as he spoke. "It looks like he's still busy evolving. Are you guys sure about this 'cuz I'm gonna have to sit this one out until Amidamaru's ready." the young boy commented. "Yes. You're not that useful anyway Yoh." Lenny spoke up as he faced away from the leader of the group. "Aw gee, thanks Len." Yoh's face dead-panned with an un-amused look. "Don't worry, Yoh, you're not the only one who has to sit this one out. My body is still pretty weak from when I took that fall." Yumi spoke up, slinging her right arm around her brother's shoulders. "That makes me feel so much better sis." the little brother smirked awkwardly. "No problem!" the woman smirked back before watching as the X-Laws began their attack. Yumi watched as Faust used Eliza to get the other non-combatants away from the battle, though she wasn't complaining that she was left behind.

"_Yumi, please at least form Spirit Fusion in case you need to get out of here fast."_ Ryoushiame took on his full spirit form as he spoke to his shaman. "You're right 'Ame, that way I can get Yoh out of here too if it comes down to it." the woman smirked, releasing her grip on her brother. "Are you sure you want to use that much Furyoku sis? Besides, wouldn't you be too big?" Yoh questioned as he watched his sister. "Nah, we've practiced it so much now that I can stay my normal size! Just watch and learn little brother!" Yumi smirked as she called her guardian. "Ryoushiame, Sprit Form! Fusion!" the woman called, bringing the gryphon's spirit ball to her chest to allow him to merge with her being. Yoh watched with keen eyes as his sister was engulfed with a white light as she and Ryoushiame merged. Once the light faded Yumi had blue-silver wings, mid-back black hair, red-tinted cat eyes, and looked a lot stronger and healthier. "Nice sis, you look a lot better like that!" Yoh snickered as his sister finished her fusion with her guardian. "Thanks bro, I feel a lot better like this too." the woman snickered back, bringing out her bo staff and returning her attention to the X-Laws.

Noticing that Marco's attention was now on her brother and herself, Yumi prepared for Michael to get past Len and Bason and attack Yoh. Once the guardian spirit knocked Bason aside, Yumi prepared an attack for Michael that he wouldn't forget anytime soon. "Cyclone Storm!" the woman cried as she flapped her wings and slashed her weapon, creating a devastating blast of wind that nearly halted the spirit and gave him a large number of deep gashes. "You and your attacks will not stop us! Michael, attack Yoh and Mayumi now!" Marco yelled as the angel spirit dove in for another attack. _'Shit, I can't attack again. All I can do is create a shield.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she created a shield of Furyoku in front of herself and her brother, holding Michael for a split second before Joco and Mic and Trey and Kori are able to subdue the spirit. Letting down the shield, the woman looked back at her brother, who was nearly ready for action with Amidamaru. Seeing the X-Laws launching their final assault, Yumi moved out of the way so that her brother could diffuse the attack.

After the X-Laws left, Yumi let the fusion go and Ryoushiame popped out of his shaman's chest in his spirit ball form. Everyone got a good laugh in at Yoh's new abilities, though the boy seemed to have something else on his mind. "Hey Yumi, what did Zeke mean when he said that you meant more to him than to me?" the boy asked, though everyone looked like they wanted to know as well. "It's a long story, so you should all probably sit down for this." the woman gave a nervous smile as she took a seat leaning against a boulder and facing the others, who followed her example. "One thousand years ago, Zeke had an older sister, and that was me." no one said a word as the woman spoke, though their faces were full of shock and disbelief. "That's also why Marco said that I should be dead, I'm not sure what he knows or how much he knows, but he definitely knows that I was Zeke's sister one thousand years ago." Yumi laughed nervously as she spoke, though the rest of the group waited for her to go on.

"Let me start by saying this, Zeke wasn't always like he is now, he used to be a kind person. His first name was Asaha Douji and mine was Yuki Douji. Our mother was murdered by humans thinking that she was a demon and we were left to wander on our own. We met a spirit named Ohachiyo and the three of us became good friends. When Asaha found the men that killed our mother, he made a mistake using his Furyoku and merged permanently with Ohachiyo, giving him the curse of being able to read people's minds. And I say curse because he cannot control it. We later were able to move in with the Asakura family and became demon hunters, that was when I met Ryoushiame and Asaha met Matamune. But his mind reading curse stayed with him and drove him to insanity. Humans didn't understand our power as shaman and their negative thoughts started to have an impact on Asaha, driving him to the point where he wanted to create a Shaman Only world through the King of Spirits. When Asaha told me of his plan, I told him that I did not agree with it and it would only cause us trouble if we tried to attain it. I told him that we had a good life and he needed to try and lean to control his curse, and that I would help him do so since I had already been able to block my thoughts from him.

But Asaha wouldn't listen to me. He went to the Asakuras and began preaching about his plan; only they reacted just as I thought they would. They killed him, and later, they killed me too since they didn't want any reminders of what Asaha would have done. When I died, I didn't go to hell like Asaha did; I went to the King of Spirits and resided by his side, waiting for my brother to join me since I believed that there was still good in him. But I was wrong, hatred had clouded his mind and he was able to reincarnate himself five hundred years later as a member of the Patch Tribe and stole the Spirit of Fire. It was when Zeke was killed once more I knew that he was going to try again in the next five hundred years so I pleaded with the King of Spirits to allow me to go back and try to stop my brother from succeeding in his plans for a Shaman Only world. He allowed me to, but there were conditions that he set, I did not have my memories of my past life until I left to go and train with Ryoushiame three years ago, and I do not have the strength that I had before, I had to start off like any other child would. While we were training with Spirit Fusion I remembered everything at once. Once 'Ame explained everything to me I was able to finally come to peace with myself, and once Yoh left for Tokyo I was able to speak to mother, father, grandfather, and grandmother about it. After that I went back into training, and you all know the rest."

The group was silent throughout the woman's story and for a good five minutes after she finished and waited for their comments. Yoh was the first to do anything. The boy got up and walked over to his sister, pulling her up to a standing position and giving her a fierce and loving but gentle hug. "It doesn't matter to me if you were Zeke's sister one thousand years ago, you're still my big sister and I love you for who you are now. I don't think that Zeke appreciates you for who you really are, and I believe that you are just as important to me as you are, or were, to him." Yoh whispered into his sister's ear, making her tear up and hug him back while staying silent. "It must be hard, having your little brother turning insane like that and having to watch people hate and fear him like they do now." Morty came over next and placed a hand on the woman's leg. "It's hard, but I know that the boy that you all see now isn't my brother. The man that was Asaha is and always will be my brother, but I know that he's still in there somewhere, so it's hard to watch Zeke do all the things that he does." Yumi spoke as Yoh moved to her side with an arm still slung around her shoulder. "Well, you can't judge someone by their family. If you could I'd be a power hungry tyrant." Lenny spoke up. "I'm afraid that your example does not support your argument Mr. I-will-win-the-Shaman-Tournament-no-matter-what." Rio laughed at the Tao.

The rest of the group broke into laughs, making Mayumi smile a genuine smile for the first time since she fell off that cliff. She was going to be alright, she was with her brother and her friends again and they were going to make it to Dobi Village on time, where she would cheer them all on as they made it through the second stage. _'It doesn't matter what life throws at me, I will always be there for Yoh and our friends. Zeke can try to create his Shaman Only world, but we will stop it. Then, and only then, will I try and bring out Asaha, I know that he is in there somewhere just waiting for me to get him.' _Yumi smiled at her father, who was in the midst of leaving the group as they continued on their way to Dobi Village and the second stage of the Shaman Tournament.

_So I finally got to be with Yoh and our friends again, granted I'm no were near ready to compete in my current health, but we'll make it. Somehow._

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**Night: So there you have it, Chapter 11 is in the bag~**

**Yoh: -hugging Yumi- I'm so happy to have my sister back! -glares at Zeke- YOU CAN'T TAKE HER FROM MEEEEE!**

**Zeke: -steals Yumi- Watch me!**

**-Yoh and Zeke play tug of war with their sister-**

**Yumi: -anime tears- HELP ME BOSS LADY!**

**Night: -deep intake of breath- YOH AND ZEKE ASAKURA! STOP THIS INSTANT!**

**-Yumi is dropped to the ground as the twins pale-**

**Night: Good. -takes Yumi in her arms and strokes her hair.**

**All: Now hit that middle button and REVIEW PEOPLE!**


	12. BitterSweet Halloween

**-insert creepy laughter and screaming here-**

**Night: HAPPY, late, HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!**

**Yumi: Soooo, what are we doing again?**

**Yoh: Yeah, you just grabbed us all without saying a thing!**

**-Lenny, Trey, Rio, Joco, Faust, Morty, Zeke, Opacho, and their guardian spirits all look at the Boss Lady in question-**

**Trey: And what are Zeke and Opacho doing here! -points accusingly-**

**Night: -using a dark tone and glare that beats even Anna's- Because I said so and you will all get along.**

**-the entire group nods, though Trey still glares at the pair when they think that Night isn't looking-**

**Night: -claps hands- Now then, on with the Halloween Special!**

**All: Halloween Special? What's that?**

**Night: -smirks evilly- You'll find out soon enough!~ And I want to say that this chapter has absolutely NOTHING to do with the main storyline!**

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"It was a dark and scary night, just like this one, when a group of friends came together to tell spooky stories, just like us—" "NOT ALL OF US ARE FRIENDS YUMI!" "TREY RACER SHUT YOUR YAPPER AND LET ME TELL MY STORY!" Yumi whacked the snow shaman on the back of his head as he interrupted her, though the mood was ruined as was their attempts at telling scary stories. The rest of the group snickered at the blue haired boy's pain; all the boys save for Faust and Morty having been subjected to her whacks on the head before. Opacho huddled close to the woman, having been scared at the tone of Yumi's story-telling voice and where she could have gone with the story. Smiling softly, the woman scooped the girl up and allowed Opacho to sit on her shoulders, head resting contently on Yumi's. The group consisted of Yoh, Yumi, Lenny, Trey, Rio, Faust, Morty, Zeke, and Opacho, all of them were bored since Anna, Tammy, Pirika, and June had gone away for the weekend of Halloween and Lyserg was hanging out with the X-Laws again and not wanting to have anything to do with the 'despicable holiday.' Yumi and Opacho had declined their offer to join them in their pampering trip, the former not feeling comfortable with just girls around and the latter not wanting to leave her precious Zeke.

"So, now what are we going to do?" Morty asked, looking up at Yoh for any suggestions. "I think that we should all go and find costumes for Trick-Or-Treating tomorrow night!" Joco posed dramatically. "For once that's not a bad idea. I'm in!" Trey responded, smirking at the thought of scaring everyone. The rest of the group gave their affirmatives; it was something to get them out of the house and to help them prepare for the next night. "Alright all, let's go get us some costumes!" Yumi proclaimed, pumping her right fist in the air while her left held Opacho's leg so she didn't fall. Not five minutes later Yoh, Zeke, Opacho, and Morty were piled into Mayumi's steel green 2011 Chevy Silverado 1500 Hybrid and Lenny, Trey, Joco, and Rio were seated in Faust's black 2012 Chevy Sonic.

"It was really nice of the Patch to lend us these cars while we wait for the tournament to start back up! I was afraid that we would have to go back home!" Yoh snickered from the right seat of Yumi's truck. "Yeah, I just glad that they didn't have any motorcycles for Rio to use. Who knows what trouble he would have caused." the woman snickered from her position at the wheel. "I don't see why I wasn't issued a car, I'm older than all—I mean, almost all of you." Zeke caught himself once he saw his sister's glare in the mirror. "Don't worry, they still need to get used to you being here." Yumi smiled through the mirror at her brother, who smiled back ever so slightly.

"Dude, Joco, you're sitting too close!" Trey scooted towards his door and away from the smaller boy. "I can't help it man, it's my magnetic personality!" Lenny smashed the side of Joco's face at the terrible attempt at a joke. "Len! Don't push him towards me!" the blue boy screeched as he pressed up against the door even more. "Settle down boys, we don't have much farther to go." Faust glanced back only to have the boys scream at him to pay attention to his driving. "It is so nice to be on the open road once again, though I do not understand why the Patch do not lend out motorcycles." Rio had the window wide open and his head hanging out the window. The boys deadpanned, the older boy was so weird.

It didn't take the group too much longer to reach the nearby costume store, and both vehicles parked in the vacant lot and walked the short distance to the shop. Once they were inside, the group froze at who was behind the counter and stocking the racks upon racks of costumes. "Welcome Shaman! Please feel free to browse the costume racks!" Kalim and Silva greeted in unison, freaking the group out even more and Yumi nearly dropped Opacho from her favorite position on the woman's shoulders. After a second or two the group split and searched the racks.

Lenny walked into the vampire section, Joco went into the werewolf section, Trey entered the Frankenstein section, Faust found the psycho doctor area, Rio saw the devil costumes, Morty went to the magician area, Yoh and Zeke were looking at the ghost costumes, and Yumi and Opacho were looking at the matching female costumes.

An hour and a half a checkbook later, the group was back in there vehicles and driving home. Each of them had found a costume that they thought suited them and did not share them with anyone. Though with Yumi and Opacho having co-ordinated their costumes each knew what the other was wearing. _'Tomorrow night is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to see what the guys got!'_ Yumi smiled to herself as they pulled into the driveway to the house that the Patch had given them for their stay in America. By then it was nearly time to eat so Yumi and Opacho went into the kitchen to prepare dinner for the boys, knowing that the other girls and Lyserg would not be joining them until the morning after Halloween so they didn't have to worry about Anna telling them what not to cook.

After dinner the group all went to bed and planned for the next night, when they would scare the pants off of their friends.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

The next morning was uneventful, as was the rest of the day. However after an early dinner, the group went into their rooms to get ready to go Trick-Or-Treating, the only pair being the two females left in the group.

Twenty minutes later, Yoh and Zeke both came out of their rooms with nearly identical Pac-Man Ghost costumes. Both wore sheets over their bodies with sleeves for their arms and an overlarged hood, Yoh's being blue and Zeke's being red. Not long after, Len came out in his vampire costume. With white face powder to make his face paler, red paint for blood, a black cape with a large collar, black slacks, a white button up shirt, and black boots the boy looked like the real deal. Trey came out next dressed as Frankenstein's Monster. Complete with green body paint, ragged clothes, and a screw through his temples, the Aniu looked kind of funny. Faust was a doctor covered in blood. Joco came out in a complete werewolf jumpsuit. With brown fur, claws, and a pullover mask the comedian was far from funny. Morty walked out next dressed as Merlin the Magician, complete with the blue hat and book. Rio was the last of the males to come out, dressed as a devil. Red body paint covered the boy's body, horns sprouted from his head, a red tail from his behind, and his clothes were skimpy and dark.

Now the boys were waiting on Yumi and Opacho, who didn't keep them waiting much longer. The small girl came out first, dressed as an innocent lamb. With white fluff covering Opacho's torso and hair, her limbs were inside those identical to a lamb, and her large eyes completed the look. Mayumi came out next, outfitted as a kind shepherd. An off-white hooded cloak covered the woman's body, underneath were tan trousers and a white blouse, light brown boots were on her feet, and a shepherd's staff was in her right hand. All of them were holding pillowcases in their hands for the candy that they were about to collect.

"Wow, you all look freaky and scary! Well, except for Morty, Yoh, and Zeke! You three look cute!" Yumi commented as Opacho climbed up to sit upon the woman's shoulders once more. "You two look adorable in your costumes! I like them!" Zeke walked over, smiling up at the young girl on his sister's shoulders. "Thanks Zeke! I picked mine out all by myself!" Opacho had been broken of her habit to refer to the male as 'master' by Yumi, telling the girl that there was no need to call him that. "That's right, I was already eyeing this one and when Opacho picked out the lamb I couldn't resist. Now then, it's getting dark so we should head out!" the woman smiled excitedly as the group headed for the door.

The group's house was at the end of a quiet street in the middle of a neighborhood about fifty miles away from Dobi Village so they had plenty of room for Trick-Or-Treating that night. "This is going to be awesome guys! We're totally going to go around and scare little kids and get free candy at the same time!" Joco fist-pumped the air as he walked confidently as the group walked up to the first house they were going to. Not five seconds after the boy said that a large spider flung down in front of his face, causing Joco to scream like a baby and leap into the arms of Faust. Opacho giggled as she and Yumi walked in front of the boys to ring the doorbell, the pair raising their voices in a loud "Trick-Or-Treat" after doing so. An older woman opened the door and cooed when she saw the female pair and gave each two handfuls of candy. When the boys came forward the woman took one look at them and gave them all one candy each except for Yoh, Zeke, and Morty, who got a full handful.

When the group got back out to the sidewalk, the boys all whirled on the girls. "HOW COME YOU TWO GOT THE MOST CANDY!" Trey screeched in protest, all of the boys except Yoh, Zeke, and Morty glaring at the females. "Because we're cute and you're not. That's the benefit of dressing up as cute instead of scary. Plus, Opacho here is the youngest so she's probably going to get the most candy, allowing me to get more as well since we're a pair." Yumi grinned as she spoke, the young girl steering her towards the next house as she spoke. That was how the night went, Opacho and Yumi getting the most candy, Yoh, Zeke, and Morty coming in second, with the rest of the boys getting far less.

It was nearly eleven at night when the group got back home, Opacho asleep in Mayumi's arms with Zeke carrying the girl's candy and Yoh carrying his sister's. "We'll sort our candy in the morning, good night you guys." the woman smiled as she bid the boys goodnight, Yoh and Zeke following her to the room that she shared with Opacho to drop off the candy before retiring to their own rooms. The other boys followed suit, going to their rooms to rest for the remainder of the night.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

Early the next morning, Mayumi was up with the sun to make the boys and Opacho breakfast. The woman had thoroughly enjoyed the night before; she hadn't been Trick-Or-Treating since before she left home years before. _'And it was nice seeing the boys and Opacho enjoying themselves, they haven't been able to do that with the Shaman Tournament and all.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she prepared omelets for the group.

It wasn't five minutes later when Opacho walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. "Good morning sweetheart, how did you sleep?" Yumi was completely at ease with the young girl, Opacho had wormed her way into the woman's heart within the first five seconds of seeing her. "Good, thank you for last night Yumi-nee! It was really fun!" the girl had taken to adding '-nee' to the woman's name, though Yumi didn't mind at all, it was really cute. "You're welcome Opacho, it was a lot of fun for me too and I'm sure that the boys enjoyed it as well." the woman smiled as she gave the girl her breakfast.

Ten minutes later the rest of the boys were sitting around the table eating, no one really talked much since they were all still tired from the night before. It was only when they were washing the dishes did Yoh come to a sudden realization. "Anna is going to be here tomorrow, she's not going to like the amount of candy that we got last night." the boys paled at the thought of the girl's reaction to their escapade the night before. "Didn't think about that. You're just going to have to hide it!" Yumi commented with a straight face. "What do you mean 'hide it?' Anna's going to find it no matter where we put it!" Trey screeched in horror. "For you guys maybe, but Opacho and I won't have a problem." the woman smirked, making the guys point their glares at her.

"I know! We can just finish it all before they get back! Anna can't do anything if we've already eaten the candy!" Joco proclaimed once the dishes were done. "You're right dude! Let's pig out on all that candy!" Trey called, racing to grab his bag and bring it down. Zeke, Faust, and Morty watched in amusement and horror as the rest of the guys followed suit. "They're going to make themselves sick and I'm not going to clean it up or explain to Anna why they are all spread out on the floor surrounded by candy wrappers." Yumi grumbled as she, Opacho, Zeke, Faust, and Morty walked back to their rooms to grab their candy and toss in what they didn't want into the 'Unwanted' pile while the other boys began to pig out on their candy.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

"And just what in the name of the King of Spirits is going on here?" the cold voice that belonged to Anna echoed throughout the silence of the next morning in the house of the shaman competitors and their friends/family. The sleeping forms of Yoh, Trey, Joco, Lenny, and Rio were lying out in the middle of the living room floor with empty candy wrappers surrounding their prone bodies. "Looks like they all went Trick-Or-Treating the other night." Tammy whispered as the four females entered the house to stare at the sleeping boys.

Having heard them come in, Mayumi walked out of the hallway with a stretch and a large yawn. "Moring girls, how was the trip?" the woman asked casually, completely ignoring the boys on the floor as she approached the group. "What happened here Yumi? I thought that you could take care of them while we were gone." Anna accused, though her glare did not faze the older woman for a second. "I had nothing to do with that, they can explain what happened. I'm about to start breakfast, what kind of omelet do you girls like?" Yumi asked, walking back to the kitchen.

While Pirika, Tammy, and June gave the woman their answers Anna walked over to the boys and began yelling in their ears, startling them all awake as well as the rest of the household.

The boys had non-stop training for the next month with Anna, Yumi, Pirika, and Zeke switching off on who watched over their workouts.

They all looked back on that weekend with a shiver and they couldn't eat candy for months even if they wanted to.

Yumi and Opacho still enjoy grossing them out by savoring candy in front of them and offering them a piece with generous features.

* * *

**Yumi: -hugs Opacho- So cute!~**

**Night: -hearts for eyes- Opacho is so cute!~**

**Opacho: -snuggles into Yumi's hug-**

**Night: And there you have it! Remember that this has absolutely NOTHING to do with the normal storyline! And Happy Late Halloween everyone!**


	13. Fighting Ice and a Song?

**Night: -flops onto bed- soooo freaking tired…**

**Yumi: Night has had a long few weeks, hence the late chapter.**

**Night: -mutters darkly about stupid essays and math- three essays, two of which are research papers and one of which is on **_**The Help**_**, which is an amazing book by the way, due within the next month and a math professor who loves to give out busy work with a test on Tuesday is enough to make anyone tired and stressed. Not to mention that I went through a period of writer's block so that didn't help. On another note though, I read **_**Inheritance**_** in **_**LESS THAN TWO DAYS PEOPLE**_**! -screeches in a fangirl excitedness-**

**Yoh: -covers ears- The Boss Lady is freaking **_**obsessed**_** with the Inheritance Cycle if you haven't already noticed…-looks over at the still squealing Night-**

**Yumi: -has earplugs- Night does not own **_**Shaman King**_** and isn't getting paid for this, but she does own me and Ryoushiame.**

_So we made it to a small town not too far away from the canyon, but this place is just crawling with shaman in the Tournament. I've been in Spirit Unity with Ryoushiame for some time now so that he can lend me some strength but I've been leaning on Yoh and my bo staff too. We had another run-in with the X-Laws, I can't believe that Lyserg almost killed that shaman! Then we were all sitting in a restaurant and these ice shaman challenged Yoh and me to a fight. When everyone tried to protest that I was too weak for battle they didn't care, saying that as long as I was wearing an oracle bell I was a participant and I couldn't turn down a fight, but Rio insisted on fighting since I couldn't really do much. Faust ended up walking in with Morty and said that he would fight with us after Anna practically forced us to fight. The three ice shaman accepted the four-ish on one since I was weakened. This, was not going to be fun._

Yumi sighed as she, Yoh, Rio, and Faust stood in front of the three ice shaman with their weapons at their sides, this was not how she wanted to end her day. "Man, can't we just talk this over like any other person would? I'm not in a fighting mood right now." the woman grumbled as she leaned on her bo staff, Ryoushiame floating next to her. "I know, I don't want to fight these guys." Yoh grumbled back from his sister's left. "Quit complaining you two!" Anna's screech made Yoh jump and a vein pop out of Yumi's forehead. _'Why am I listening to a girl who is, what, five years younger than me again? Oh yeah, because I don't really have the energy to argue or put her in her place right now.'_ the woman sighed once more at her thoughts.

"Spirit, spirit, let's all hear it! Come on guys whoop their butts!" Joco was attempting to come up with a good cheer from the sidelines. "I don't like sitting on the sidelines dude! If anyone gets hurt I'm so in there!" Trey wasn't happy sitting this one out. "Technically you're not sitting, Trey, you're standing on the sidelines." Mayumi snickered at the boy's comment, making her brother breath out a laugh as well. "Oh I promise you they will get hurt! They'll learn that they're mere pretenders and not real warriors like us, who have earned everything we have!" the main ice dude sounded way too cocky, and it was getting on the woman's nerves. _"Believe me we have traveled our own difficult road."_ Amidamaru appeared between Yoh and Yumi with an angry look on his face. "Yeah I'm sure you have, in the back of a stretched limo with a driver named cheese." Joco started laughing at the guy's comment, though the others didn't see what was so funny about it.

"_I've battled with hardened people like them before, let's show them the power of the Double-Medium and silence them."_ the samurai's hardened voice didn't have any effect on Yoh and Yumi as they continued to not get into the fight. "I don't know" the boy was fingering the Antiquity at his side. _"He thinks that we have not paid our dues."_ Amidamaru continued to go on as Yumi assessed the three shaman in front of her. _'I really can't fight right now because I'm so weak, but I might be able to pull out a fusion with 'Ame if I have to.'_ the woman was brought out of her thoughts at her brother's next comment. "Ah, good point let's not fight. We've got nothing to prove." Yoh slid the Antiquity back into its pouch as gasps from the group erupted from the sidelines. _"No, Yoh that's not what I meant."_ Amidamaru was kneeling beside his shaman, begging Yoh to reconsider. "But what you just said made me realize that we shouldn't be doing this. It doesn't matter at all what they think." Yoh's eyes were closed as he spoke.

"Oh really? Because we think that you should be crushed!" the scrawny blonde male narrowed his eyes as he began his attack. "And that is all that matters now!" the woman continued her partner's speech. "Crushed ice attack!" the blonde cried out. "First, I shall submerge you in water!" the woman's guardian ghost created a box of water around Yoh, startling Yumi as she prepared to counter. "And then I freeze you solid!" the water was now ice thanks to the blonde man. "And lastly I crush you!" the oversized man rushed at the frozen boy, only to be stopped by Rio and Faust. "Nice one guys." Yumi commented as she cracked the ice surrounding her brother, effectively freeing him from the prison.

The woman wasn't paying the ice shaman any mind, knowing that just one of the boys would be able to take care of them with no problems. However it did catch her attention when the big one with boat armor called Eliza a schoolgirl and Faust got upset. "They probably shouldn't have made that comment." Yumi muttered uncaringly to her brother, who nodded in agreement. The woman watched as Faust and Eliza countered the ice shaman's assault, effectively startling them. As the doctor went on with his speech about how his true power had been awakened when his love was brought back to him by Anna, Yumi was gathering her Furyoku for a Spirit Fusion. _'These guys won't go without fighting me and Yoh, no matter what Faust and Rio do. I can see that much in that man's eyes.'_ the woman thought to herself as she put more weight on her staff, waiting for her time.

A burst of ice broke her concentration, however, and the female shaman looked up to find Rio encased in ice that was meant to hit Yoh. While the ice shaman rushed to try and attack the eldest boy and Yoh and Yumi tried to get him out, they all stopped to stare as the ice began to melt. "H…how in the hell…" the woman whispered with wide eyes as Rio broke out of the ice and began his counterattack and speech. _"It's amazing how much these guys are attached to Yoh."_ Ryoushiame spoke softly to his shaman as they watched Rio completely neutralize the attack of the ice shaman. "Yeah, it is." Mayumi smiled as she watched the smoke clear. The three ice shaman were on their backs while Rio and Faust stood tall, though they had stopped using their giant spirit control.

As the ice shaman got up, the blonde man said that he was not going to stop until he fought Yoh and Yumi, much to the protest of his companions. "What do you think Yumi? Should we do it?" Yoh whispered, and his sister could understand where he was going with it. "Sure, you can say the condition though." the woman smiled as she and her brother walked forward. "Alright then, we'll fight, but on one condition. Whoever loses has to drop out of the tournament and go home." Yoh spoke as he and his sister were in front of Faust and Rio. "Let us go Faust!" Rio called to the doctor. "It's all right, we've got this." Yumi waved the boy off, much to his surprise. "Are you sure? You are well enough to fight Yumi?" Faust voiced his concerns. "I'm good." the woman replied as she stood next to her brother.

"You got it. Ultimate Ice Storm Attack!" the blonde ice shaman agreed and attacked the siblings in the same breath. To everyone's surprise, however, the attack did absolutely nothing to the Asakuras. "Hey, guys, didn't that just hit Yoh and Yumi?" Trey was baffled on the sidelines. "It passed right by them." Anna was the one to answer. "How did they do that? That stuff knocked Trey right against the wall!" Joco questioned. "I think that they're using a rare combat technique. I've heard about it but I've never seen it before. You know if someone insults you? You can ignore it and it won't hurt you. Well it can work the same way with an act of fury, if you set your mind to it, you can control whether it affects you or not." Anna finished explaining. "That is so cool, Yoh and Yumi are really amazing." Morty commented, still baffled, but amazed at the same time. "You're right, they're not too bad." as Anna spoke Tammy got a blush on her face.

As the ice shaman began their attack Yoh began his Double-Medium with Amidamaru and Mayumi preformed her Spirit Fusion with Ryoushiame. With their tactics surprising their opponents, Yoh and Yumi stood next to each other and waited for the attack to come. As chunks of ice rained down towards them, the siblings stood firm, knowing what they had to do and how they would do it. Waiting until the last possible moment, Yoh and Yumi cried out their attacks. "Grand Halo Blade!" "Final Wind Slash!" the siblings struck at the same moment, with the Double-Medium and the wind generated from Yumi's wings destroying all of the ice and their opponent's spirit control while at the same time never harming the ice shaman.

With the fight over, the group headed back to the restaurant, the ice shaman laughing with them and having a good time for the rest of the night. Much to Anna's displeasure, Yumi treated herself and Yoh to noodles, though it could have also been the condition to the fight that made her mad.

'_All in all, a good night. Though I could have gone without the fight, it all worked out in the end.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she lay in her bed that night. The group was spending the night at the local hotel/motel and she had been given her own room. However, three minutes later a tired Yoh stumbled in and lay down next to his sister, curling up in her arms. "Hey little brother, you did a good job with that technique I taught you." Yumi smiled as Yoh snuggled into his sister's embrace. "Thanks Yumi. It felt kinda weird with how the ice just passed right by me, but it was really kinda cool at the same time." the boy snickered tiredly before he yawned and fell asleep.

Letting out a breath of amusement, Yumi decided that she could use some sleep as well and closed her eyes. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.

However, the woman could not sleep. The fight was still fresh in her mind and she couldn't help but wonder if she was going to be ready for the Shaman Tournament with how her body was healing. _'I know that I told father that I wouldn't be fighting in the Tournament anymore, but I can't help but wonder if my body is healing faster all of a sudden.'_ the woman pondered as she lay away in her bed, listening to the sound of her brother's soft snoring next to her. Deciding that her pondering could wait until morning, Yumi willed herself to go to sleep, and it worked much to her surprise as she was out like a light in the next minute.

The woman failed to notice, however, that there had been a certain figure watching her from a vantage point from outside of her window. _'I will come back for you, my dear sister. I will have you at my side once more, whether you like it or not.'_ Zeke thought to himself before disappearing in a pillar of flames, leaving his sister and twin to their sleep.

**Night: So, there you have it, my shortest chapter yet. Hip-hip-hooray…=_=…**

**Yumi: -pats Night on her head- Don't feel bad, things are going to get more interesting after this.**

**Yoh: Yeah, you said so yourself!**

**Night: -blinks in confusion- When did I say that?**

**Yoh: You said it in your head, which is where we are having this conversation so you really just thought it, but to me and everyone else you actually said it.**

**Yumi: …That makes absolutely no sense at all…**

**Night: …I concur…**

**Yoh: -sad face-**

**Night: I know that this chapter might have seemed rushed and compacted, but I didn't really want to skip this fight because I didn't want to really rush things. Anyway, I have a little extra surprise for you all~ A little look at what I think Yoh's first day of training with Yohmei and Yumi was like.**

It was Yoh's first day of training with his grandfather, of course his sister and Ryoushiame were there as well, but they weren't going to be taking part in his training. The seven-year-old boy was lying on the grass just staring at the sky, completely ignoring Yohmei's words about shamanism. "Yoh Asakura you will listen to me this instant!" the elderly man growled, using one of his nature spirits to hit the boy square in the face. "OW! Grandpa, why'd you do that?" Yoh whined pathetically as he sat up in the grass. "Because you need to listen to me! I'm trying to explain the Shaman Tournament that you will partake in six years from now!" Yohmei said sternly, perking both of his grandchildren's interests.

"Tournament? What tournament?" Mayumi questioned as she walked over to the pair with her guardian spirit. "Yeah, what tournament?" Yoh asked, clearly confused but interested at the same time. "Six years from now there will be a tournament to determine the next Shaman King or Queen, the two of you will be partaking in that competition as representatives of the Asakura family." the elderly man answered, happy that he had their attention.

Or so he thought.

The siblings looked at each other and grinned at a similar thought.

Then, they began to sing.

[[Key: **Yoh**, _Yumi_, Yohmei, _**Yoh and Yumi**_ ]]

**I'm gonna be a mighty king****  
****So enemies beware!****  
**Well, I've never seen a king of beasts  
With quite so little hair

**I'm gonna be the mane event****  
****Like no king was before****  
****I'm brushing up on looking down****  
****I'm working on my ROAR****  
**Thus far, a rather uninspiring thing

**Oh, I just can't wait to be king!**  
You've rather a long way to go,  
young master, if you think...

**No one saying do this**  
Now when I said that, I-  
_No one saying be there_  
What I meant was...  
**No one saying stop that**  
Look, what you don't realize...  
_**No one saying see here**_  
Now see here!

**Free to run around all day**  
Well, that's definitely out...  
**Free to do it all my way!**

I think it's time that you and I  
Arranged a heart to heart  
**Kings don't need advice****  
****From little hornbills for a start**

If this is where the monarchy is headed  
Count me out!  
Out of service, out of Japan  
I wouldn't hang about!  
This child is getting wildly out of wing  
**Oh, I just can't wait to be king!**

Yoh and Yumi were running around the training grounds and dancing at the same time with Yohmei trying to stop them. Keiko, Mikihisa, and Kino could be seen in the background looking baffled at the scene before them. Mikihisa had a basket for a picnic lunch in his hand that Keiko had prepared for the six of them.

_**Everybody look left**__**  
**__**Everybody look right**__**  
**__**Everywhere you look **_**I'm**/_he's__**  
**__**Standing in the spotlight!**_  
Not yet!  
_Let every creature go for broke and sing__  
__Let's hear it in the herd and on the wing__  
__It's gonna be King Yoh's finest fling_  
**Oh I**_** just can't wait to be king!**__**  
**_**Oh I**_** just can't wait to be king!**__**  
**_**Oh I**_** just can't waaaaaait ... to be king!**_

With the song over, the siblings began to laugh hard and their grandfather looked overly angry with their behavior. Before Yohmei could do or say anything about his grandchildren, however, he heard laughter in the background. Turning around, the old man saw his wife, daughter, and son-in-law standing on the hill separating their house from the training ground laughing at the trio before them. Extremely embarrassed, the elderly male turned tail and walked into the forest, leaving the siblings to their laughing on the grass.

"Stupid youngsters." was what a laughing Zeke heard as he hid in the treetops before the Spirit of Fire took him back to his camp, he loved to watch his siblings make fools of themselves and their grandfather.

**Night: -is laughing her ass off and can't speak-**

**Yoh: -whimpers- Why does she make us do such embarrassing things sis?**

**Yumi: -pats her brother on the back- I don't know bro, I just don't know…**

**Zeke: Review and you'll see even more silliness; I know that I enjoyed this one!**

**Yoh & Yumi: WHO INVITED HIM!**

**Night: I did! You two aren't the only ones who I'm going to screw with! -giggles evilly-**

**Yoh, Yumi, & Zeke: -gulp-**

**Night: Yeah you had better be scared! Now review peoples, and I hope that I update regularly this time…this chapter was a bitch to get out for some reason….…**

**Yumi: The Songs in this chapter are:  
**_**Just Can't Wait to be King**_** - Lion King**


	14. Blinded By The Light

**Night: -is curled up on her bed and lightly snoozing-**

**Yumi: -waves at the readers- Hey everyone, long time no see~**

**Yoh: Yeah, Night's been kinda busy…**

**Night: -groggily looks up- yeah…and not to mention that this chapter did not want to be written for the longest time…it's been in my head…but it wouldn't get onto the screen…-mutters darkly about writer's block-**

**Yoh: Anyway, Night doesn't own **_**Shaman King**_**.**

**Yumi: Though she does own me and Ryoushiame so don't steal us!**

**All: Enjoy!**

_We left town the next morning, with the ice shaman waving us off and Anna leading the way. I was growing stronger now so I wasn't relying on Ryoushiame, my staff, or Yoh anymore which was a great relief to my pride. Apparently the boys had gotten clues from some Five Great Chiefs, I guess that I missed them in my 1,000 years of being dead. 'Red River Canyon, Black Dust, and Blue Cave,' I don't really know what that means, but if the boys believe in it then I don't really have any room to complain since I don't have any idea how to get to Dobi Village. We've been traveling for a few days now and we realized that if we don't get to Dobi Village by sundown tomorrow, we'll be kicked out of the tournament for good. Boy I hope that we're going the right way!_

"Man Yumi, don't you know the way to Dobi Village! I mean, you _**are**_ 1,000 years old so don't you know _anything_?" Trey was frustrated as the group sat around their campfire. "He does have a point, don't you remember anything Yumi?" Len questioned accusingly, glaring at the eldest female. Mayumi sighed as she rubbed her temples, as much as she wanted to help them out, the woman couldn't tell them how to get to the village if she wanted to. "When I asked the King of Spirits to get a second chance at life so that I could help to stop Zeke he had conditions. I don't have the strength or powers that I had in my previous life, I don't remember everything that I did in my previous life, and the only way that I am able to regain these is if I train hard and if something triggers a memory. The only thing that the King of Spirits gave me was Ryoushiame and he was sworn to secrecy with the King of Spirits not allowing him to say or do anything that might allow me to regain my strength, powers, or memories. So as much as I would like to show everyone the way to Dobi Village, I can't." Yumi had her eyes closed as she spoke, fingers rubbing her temples as she spoke.

"Oh, well, I guess that would have been too easy. Besides, if sis knew anything then she just would have taken us to Dobi Village to begin with!" Yoh laughed as the group continued to speak around the campfire. _'How annoying, I know that there is something that is right on the tip of my mind that I'm trying to remember and it has to do with that song! There's something important about that song that I just don't understand! This is so frustrating!'_ the woman growled quietly to herself as she tried to make herself remember just what was so important about that freaking song. _"It will come in time My Lady, please don't stress yourself about this."_ Ryoushiame spoke quietly as he appeared in his spirit ball form over his mistress's right shoulder. "I know 'Ame, it's just so frustrating to know that I don't remember everything that I've done in the past. I know that the King of Spirits had good reasons, I would have done the same thing if I was in his position, but I just can't help it." Yumi sighed as she laid back in the sand, intent on getting some sleep.

As the woman tried to go to sleep, the boys stayed up longer and tried to figure out if they were going the right way or not, referring to the black desert multiple times. _'Wasn't it the black dust?'_ Yumi was about to open her mouth to say something when Morty did it for her. What surprised the woman more was that all of the boys started laughing. "Wh…what are they laughing about?" Yumi deadpanned as she sat up and watched the laughing boys. The same boys shut up when Anna stomped over to their little campfire.

"This better not mean what I think it means." the dark tone that belonged to Anna sent chills up the boys' spines. "So we're lost?" the young girl spoke in a tone full of venom that sparked an argument among the group of boys.

"_Not all hope is lost, don't you feel that?"_ Ryoushiame appeared next to his mistress as he spoke, silencing the boys. _"The black dust, it will come later in the night."_ Bason sounded like he was in a trance. _"Yes, and the blue cave is very close by."_ Amidamaru was the next to speak. "How do you know that?" Trey was the first to question, though Mayumi merely shook her head. "They hear the King of Spirits calling to them." the woman commented from her seat inside of her sleeping bag.

Now with everyone's attention on her, Yumi merely placed a soft expression on her face and looked to where the guardians were looking. "How long have you felt it sis?" Yoh asked, confused. "I just felt it when they mentioned it, like a sort of mental wall broke after years of waiting. I can hear the King of Spirits once more, we're very close to Dobi Village but we need to get our rest before moving on. I'll see you all in the morning." Yumi was about to lay back down when her little brother suddenly leapt into his sleeping bag next to her with a pleading look on his face. "Would you please sing for us Yumi? It's so much easier to sleep after you sing." the boy grinned as he spoke, making his sister smile as well. "Alright, but everyone needs to be in their sleeping bags before I start." Yumi spoke as the rest of the group hurried to get into their bags.

Taking a deep breath, Yumi began to sing a song that none in the group had heard her sing before. But it was very familiar to the woman.

_It's like a storm__  
__That cuts a path__  
__It breaks your will__  
__It feels like that__  
__You think your lost__  
__But you're not lost__  
__On your own__  
__You're not alone_

_I will stand by you__  
__I will help you through__  
__When you've done all you can do__  
__And you can't cope__  
__I will dry your eyes__  
__I will fight your fights__  
__I will hold you tight__  
__And I won't let go_

_It hurts my heart__  
__To see you cry__  
__I know it's dark__  
__In this part of life__  
__Oh it finds us all__  
__We're too small__  
__To stop the rain__  
__Oh but when it rains_

_I will stand by you__  
__I will help you through__  
__When you've done all you can do__  
__And you can't cope__  
__I will dry your eyes__  
__I will fight your fights__  
__I will hold you tight__  
__And I won't you fall_

_Don't be afraid to fall__  
__I'm right here to catch you__  
__I won't let you down__  
__It won't get you down__  
__You're gonna make it__  
__Yeah I know you can make it_

_Because I will stand by you__  
__I will help you through__  
__When you've done all you can do__  
__And you can't cope__  
__And I will dry your eyes__  
__I will fight your fights__  
__I will hold you tight__  
__And I won't let go_

_Oh I'm gonna hold you__  
__And I won't let go__  
__Won't let you go__  
__No I won't_

By the time that she was half-way through the song, Yumi knew that the group was sound asleep, so she let her pent-up tears flow. She could clearly remember her first mother singing this exact song to put her and Asaha to sleep so many years ago. _'Then it was me who used this song to lull my brother to sleep after mother died. I can't believe that I forgot this song too.'_ Yumi used the back of her hand to dry her silent tears before laying back in her sleeping bag and falling into a dreamless sleep.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

Mayumi woke well before the rest of the group the next morning and got up from her sleeping bag to stretch her limbs. After a moment of stretching, Yumi noticed the ruins that had appeared overnight, feeling the King of Spirits calling her to that place. _'It must be Dobi Village, but where is the Blue Cave?'_ the woman pondered as she wandered closer to the ruins, leaving her guardian, knapsack, and weapon behind. When she approached the old buildings, the female shaman closed her eyes, a familiar sense of comfort emitting from this place._'It's like I've finally come home after a long journey.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she softly touched one of the buildings with the palm of her right hand.

Memories flashed through Mayumi's head, and she found herself unable to move as she was forced to remember events that she realized she had never wanted to witness again. After it was over the woman sank to her knees, her right arm now fully supporting her as she leaned against the building. She had just witnessed Asaha try to create his Shaman Only world one thousand years ago, then the Asakura Family killing him in front of her, and finally being killed herself with the same spear that had killed her younger brother. There was one part of the memory that had surprised her, though. She had fought for her brother's life, and she had felt like she wanted him to succeed. _'Did…did I want a Shaman Only World too? How…how is that even possible! I don't want to kill humans…but did I back then?'_ the woman broke down and cried to herself in the early morning hours, horrified that this could very well be the truth.

After about five minutes, Ryoushiame found his mistress and sat on her shoulder until she stopped her crying. _"What is it Yumi? Why were you crying?"_ the gryphon questioned softly, almost not wanting to ask the question. "'Ame, did I want a Shaman Only World one thousand years ago? Was I in agreement with Asaha? With Zeke?" Yumi's voice was quite, so much so that Ryoushiame had to strain to hear his mistress's voice. _"Absolutely not! You didn't want your little brother to die, you wanted to try and talk him out of it. You wanted to die with Asaha and join him in the next life so you asked the Asakura Family to kill you with the same weapon that they used against your brother."_ the male gryphon eased Mayumi's fears as he calmly spoke to her, making her visibly relax. _"Now come, the others are starting to wake up and it would be best if you were there when they did."_ Ryoushiame nudged the woman into a standing position as he spoke. "Thanks Ryoushiame, I don't know what I'd do without you." Yumi smiled as she made sure there was no evidence that she had been crying before walking out of the ruins.

Not a second after she and her guardian returned to camp did the rest of the group begin to wake up, the boys coming to their senses second only to Anna. "Morning sleepyheads. Rise and shine!" Yumi snickered as the guys rubbed the sleep out of their eyes. "Morning Yumi...what's up?" Yoh opened his eyes and gazed at his sister. "I don't think we have to worry about the Black Dust anymore." the woman's words took an immediate effect, waking the rest of the group up instantly. "Before you ask, take a look over there." Yumi turned her back to the group and pointed to the ruins, a gasp emitting from the guys as they saw them.

"I did not notice this last night in the dark." Rio was the first to react, for the first time in a while his voice was calm and quiet. "What is this dude?" Trey spoke next in his usual manner. "It's a ruin." Joco's serious voice made Yumi's eyebrow raise. "I can see that it's a ruin but what is it doing HERE!" Trey's reactions to the other boy's comments were always amusing. "How should I know? Whatever ruins do, it's, it's ruining!" Joco made an attempt to make a joke but it merely backfired in his face. "THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" the ice shaman proceeded to hit the "comedian's" face with a closed fist. The rest of the group ignored the jokesters and walked inside of the ruins without further comments.

As they walked through the worn down buildings, Yumi got the same feeling that she had before, and this time she refrained from touching anything but the ground. While she wanted to regain her memories, the woman did not what to take the chance of recalling the same memory she had not long before. It took the group about ten minutes to get to the bottom of the stairs where they found a flat area with water near the back. "That's interesting." Yumi murmured to herself as she walked up to the water and knelt by the edge. "What is it sis?" Yoh walked up next to his sister and peered into the water as well. "I can't see the bottom and yet the water is crystal clear, something tells me that this is more than it appears to be." the woman responded, the guardian spirits all appearing at her words. _"I would offer to go and check it out, but water isn't exactly my preferred environment."_ Ryoushiame spoke, seeming to glare at the water.

It ended up being Amidamaru, Bason, and Tokagero who went to check out the small lake. Though the gryphon wanted to accompany them, him being underwater wasn't exactly something that would be a good thing. It took the three guardian ghosts about fifteen minutes to get back to the surface. When the samurai informed the group of how deep the water was and that he believed Anna, Morty, Tamara, and Yumi couldn't make the swim, the eldest woman all but smacked him. "I can make it just fine Amidamaru. Just because Ryoushiame can't swim doesn't mean that I can't either." Yumi glared at the ghost, causing him to hide behind Yoh. No one had the courage to question the woman further as the group of shaman entered the water.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

Yumi gasped as she broke the surface of the water, pulling Rio and Lenny up for air by the backs of their shirts. That was the longest time that she had ever been under the water without being able to come up for air. And she wasn't about to go do it again.

After the group was able to fully recover from their length of time under the water they began walking down the tunnel before them.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

'_This just keeps getting better and better.'_ Yumi thought bitterly to herself as the group stopped walking. "Somebody explain something to me! If we've been going the right way, then why is this a dead end!" Trey screamed angrily as he pointed at the rock wall in front of them. "Maybe it's an illusion. Trey, why don't you run at it at full force and see if you pass through?" Lenny commented dryly, though Yumi could tell that he was getting annoyed as well. "Maybe we missed a side tunnel?" the woman automatically threw out Faust's suggestion, there were no side tunnels. "Lets go back." Trey sounded disappointed as the group turned around.

Only to be faced with _another_ dead end.

"Somebody took the tunnel away!" Rio's words were so stupid, if Yumi hadn't been shell-shocked she would have smacked him. In that instant, Amidamaru and Ryoushiame appeared by their shamans. _"It's here."_ the spirits spoke at the same time, making everyone raise their eyebrows. "What's here?" Yoh questioned just before a voice rang through the small space.

Yumi was unable to comprehend what the voice, or the King of Spirits, was saying, for suddenly the group was surrounded by a blinding white light.

In the next instant all of them were standing on the edge of a grassy cliff overlooking a vast forest, and a large white pillar of moving light.

Then the light blinded them.

'_Just great.'_ was the only thing on Yumi's mind as she shielded her eyes from the bright light emitting from the King of Spirits.

**Night: There you have it~ And now for another bonus part of the crack side story, this one was so much fun to type~**

"This place is huge!" a certain blue haired shaman was staring in awe at the buildings of Tokyo, having never seen anything like them in his lifetime. "Kori, this is going to be the adventure of a lifetime! I can't wait to sell these trinkets and win the Shaman Tournament at the same time so that I can turn the world into a giant swamp filled with lily pads!" Trey Racer proclaimed to his spirit guardian, who merely sweat-dropped as she followed him towards the city.

Five minutes later, the boy was walking through the city acting like a kid in a candy store. Taking in everything at once, the blue haired shaman noticed other spirits, shaman, men, women, and children of all ages. Once he stopped in front of a window, Trey saw multiple TV screens with his face on them. Amazed at the fact that there were 'people' who looked just like him in this city, Trey failed to realize that it was merely a video feed. "What do you know Kori! There are people just like me even here!" Trey exclaimed before seeing something out of the corner of his eye.

Turning to see what it was that caught his eye, the blue haired boy stopped in his tracks, for there stood the girl of his dreams. Short, dirty blonde hair, piercing eyes, and a short black dress, complete with a red bandana and sandals, the girl whose name was unknown to Trey but known to others as Anna was beyond captivating for the Aniu.

So much so, that the poor boy burst out into song.

[[_Trey_]]

_Whatever you do__  
__I'll do it too__  
__Show me everything and tell me how__  
__'You know' means something__  
__And yet nothing to me_

_Oh I can see there's so much to learn__  
__It's all so close__  
__And yet so far__  
__I see myself as people see me_

_Oh I just know there's something bigger out there_

_I wanna know__  
__Can you show me__  
__I wanna know about these strangers like me__  
__Tell me more__  
__Please show me__  
__Something familiar about these strangers like me_

As he continues to sing, Trey follows Anna like a stalker. People are beginning to stare but neither of them seem to notice.

_Every gesture__  
__Every move that she makes__  
__Makes me feel like never before__  
__Why do I have__  
__This growing needs to be beside her_

_Oh these emotions I never knew__  
__Of some other world beyond this place__  
__Above the tree and all the clouds_

_Oh I see before me a new horizon_

_I wanna know__  
__Can you show me__  
__I wanna know about these strangers like me__  
__Tell me more__  
__Please show me__  
__Something's familiar about these strangers like me_

Finally gathering his nerve, Trey begins to approach the still unsuspecting Anna.

_Come lean out and see my world__  
__Where there's beauty beyond your dreams__  
__Can you feel the things I feel__  
__Right now__  
__With you_

_Take my hand__  
__There's a world I need to know, oh, oh woah_

Trey takes Anna's hand as he continues to sing, startling her.

_I wanna know__  
__Can you show me__  
__I wanna know about these strangers like me__  
__Tell me more__  
__Please show me__  
__Something's familiar about these strangers like me_

_I wanna know._

As he finishes singing, Trey is kneeling in front of Anna, who looks to be very annoyed and pissed off.

"And just what the heck do you think you're trying to pull you lousy stalker!" Anna screeched as she tossed Trey into a poll.

"I am an engaged woman, and the next time you even think about touching me I will do much worse than tossing you into a pole!" the girl gave a small 'humph' before continuing on her way, leaving Trey laying by the pole, unconscious.

The boy later woke up three hours later in the hospital with a concussion, and he never remembered why.

**Night: -is laughing her butt off-**

**Trey: What the hell man! Why would I do something like that! More importantly if I did why would Anna hit me! -goes off into his corner to cry-**

**Night: -doesn't bother to console the ice shaman and continues to laugh-**

**Zeke: Make sure to review and let Night know what you think~**

**Yumi: The Songs in this chapter are:  
**_**Won't Let Go**_** - Rascal Flatts  
**_**Strangers Like Me**_** - Tarzan**


	15. Memorys and Song?

**Night: -yawns as she wanders in- what's up peeps?**

**Yoh: OHMAIGOSH YOU UPDATED! o.o**

**Night: -smacks Yoh with a deadpanned angry look on her face- No you dolt, I'm just here to pass the breeze.**

**Yumi: -whispers to readers- Boss Lady isn't really in a good mood right now...for unknown reasons...**

**Night: -grumbles- I'll tell you why I'm so freaking upset! In fact, I think that some people will even sympathize with me!**

**Yoh: ...**

**Yumi: ...**

**Night: First and foremost, I've been having major writer's block, so much so that even though the entire story/plotline is in my head I have a very hard time getting it onto the keyboard. Secondly, I'm sick. Like, I'm about ready to smack all the healthy people in the world I feel so ticked because this thing came out of fucking NOWHERE! Thirdly, I'm on my girlie time. Which just adds to my lovely feelings. Fourthly, I've got a job now as well as school, and what do I do you ask? Why, I enter data. So when I get home, I really don't feel like sitting in front of my laptop and continue to abuse my fingers/wrists/arms/shoulders because that's what I've been doing for 5 hours straight. Fifthly, due to a surgery that I had back in December of 2008, I have some lingering nerve problems in my left leg that occasionally gives me pain. And that has been bothering me as of late. And when I mean botherd, I mean that I'm in so much pain that I'm ready to throw in the towel and start breaking things. Sixthly, I haven't been getting much sleep because of the previously mentioned reasons. So I am a very cranky person right now.**

**Yoh & Yumi: ...-scoots away from the seething Night-**

**Night: On another note, thank you to those who have reviewed, I have been able to continue on because of my faithful reviewers. -hands out cookies-**

**Zeke: Night does not own **_**Shaman King**_** otherwise the anime would not have ended like that.**

**Yumi: Night does, however, own Ryoushiame as well as myself so don't steal us!**

**Night: Enjoy.~**

_**"Child, open your eyes."**_ Yumi groaned from her position on her back, rubbing her eyes as she brought herself into a sitting position. The woman remained sitting with her hands over her eyes for a moment before she opened them, only to squint at the familiar bright light that surrounded her. "You didn't have to knock me out." Mayumi grumbled to the King of Spirits as she stood, Ryoushiame appearing in his true form on her right side. _**"It was the only way for us to speak. I would have thought that you would have taken care of Zeke by now Mayumi Asakura."**_ the King of Spirits' voice echoed through the seemingly empty space, though the woman and gryphon knew that they were actually surrounded by the King himself. "Well it is kind of difficult for me to defeat him when I'm injured, can't remember my past, and while I'm nowhere near my old strength. I know that it was part of the deal, but I'm getting frustrated because I know that I need to beat him, I'm just not strong enough and I don't know everything anymore." Yumi grumbled, not being disrespectful, but letting the King of Spirits know that she wasn't happy.

The spirit was silent for a few moments before speaking once more. _**"You knew the reason that you could not retain your memories before we made the deal, Mayumi Asakura. And you're true power will be awakened soon after you awaken in Dobi Village. You're memories will also return once you regain your powers. However, you will be overwhelmed, so prepare yourself. Although, you have already partially awakened your true power, you just haven't realized it yet."**_ the King of Spirits spoke softer and kinder than he had before, and Yumi wondered why he seemed so much warmer than he had a moment before. "If my power is that great, then wouldn't it be better for me not to be on a team for the next part of the tournament? I do remember that at this part of the tournament the contestants are split into groups of three." the woman commented, beginning to get a grasp on how powerful she had once been.

"_**That would be ideal, and I will make that clear with the council. However I am unable to do this for Zeke, he will remain on a team. Although I am going to make sure that you do not fight him until the final stage."**_ the spirit king's words put a spark into the woman's eyes. "Please, don't do that. The fights should be random. And if anyone should be able to defeat Zeke, it would be either me or Yoh." Yumi's words confused the spirit. _**"You have much confidence in your descendant turned brother, Mayumi Asakura. I find it slightly strange."**_ the King of Spirits commented. _"Yoh Asakura is a very capable young Shaman. It is very possible that he will be the next Shaman King."_ this time it was Ryoushiame who spoke. The King of Spirits was silent for a time as he thought about the prospect of someone other than Yumi that was capable of defeating Zeke.

"_**Very well. I will not meddle in the fighting assignments. The group that you came here with have all passed my test, I am pleased that you chose worthy companions. I also see why you have so much faith in them. I will say farewell for now, Mayumi Asakura. We will speak again soon."**_ with that the woman's vision faded to darkness, the many voices that were the King of Spirit echoed within her mind as she slowly lost consciousness once more. This time she was granted with memories of her past life that revolved around her powers.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

_A young girl ran through the forest, dressed in rags with cropped hair flying around her head as her bare feet pounded the dirt in an attempt to get home. The girl ran as fast as she could with tears in her beautiful eyes, she could see the flames and the smoke near the place that she called home. "MOMMA! ASAHA!" the young girl screamed once she got to their burning home. "Hey! The demon's little girl came to rescue her mommy and brother!" there were men waiting near the blaze with a young boy in the middle of their circle, separating him from the fire as well as the girl. "YUKI! HELP ME!" the young Asaha cried as he reached for his sister only to be smacked by the men surrounding him._

_A dark tune was heard by the men, all of them stopping to look back at the girl called Yuki who was now glaring at them as her lips moved in a dark song of death and sorrow. "Wha…what is she doing!" one man cried as he and his friends felt dread and the feeling of death wash over them. "I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE!" one of the men cried, breaking Yuki's concentration and allowing the rest of the men to race away. "Asaha! Are you alright?" the girl ran up to her brother and held him to her chest, carrying him away from the blaze. "Th…they killed momma…" Asaha sobbed into his sister's tattered shirt as she walked into the forest._

_Closing her eyes in hurt, sorrow, and anger, Yuki let her warm tears flow from her eyes and down her cheeks. "I won't let them hurt you, my Asaha. I'll keep you safe." the young girl promised as she and her young brother fell asleep under the branches of a large tree._

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

Mayumi bolted upright from her previous position of sleeping on her back, sweat dripping off of her face and making her hair and clothes stick to her body. _'Holy shit.'_ the woman couldn't do anything but sit there as her memories and power coursed back through her body, mind, and soul. She remembered everything now. _'So that was part of the deal, I guess that things are going to get a little more complex than I had originally thought.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she was finally able to get up off of her bed and make her way to the bathroom, fully intending on taking a shower.

After about a half-hour the woman was back in her room and had donned a pair of loose cargo shorts, a loose white tee shirt, and had pulled her brown hair up into a high pony-tail. The woman had found that after she woke up her hair had turned completely brown, meaning that her previously red bangs were now the same color as the rest of her hair. _'Well that's different.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she fixed her feather clip in its usual spot and placed her necklace around her throat so that it hung under her shirt. _"You look so much like you did back then, Yumi. I can hardly tell the difference."_ Ryoushiame was in his spirit ball form as he spoke, floating above his mistress's right shoulder.

"Thank you 'Ame, though I guess that I should go and find the others, they're probably worried sick about me." Yumi snickered as she strapped her Oracle Bell onto her left forearm and walked out of her room with Ryoushiame trailing behind her.

A few minutes later, the woman exited the hotel and began to wander the streets of Dobi Village in search of her brother and their friends. When she found them, however, Zeke's group and the X-Laws were already there and Goldva was beginning to speak.

After the leader of the Patch finished speaking about the teams of three, he stated that there would be one Shaman that would remain fighting alone by the will of the King of Spirits and that person would get a message on the Oracle Bell soon after his message was completed. After he signed off, Mayumi's Oracle Bell began to beep, catching the attention of the X-Laws, Zeke and his group, as well as Yoh and his group.

The message on the screen read: **Mayumi Asakura, solo contestant for the Second Round**

"So that solves that mystery." the woman's voice was calm and sounded much more mature than she had sounded before the group entered Dobi Village, and it caught everyone off-guard. "But sis, you're still recovering aren't you?" Yoh was the first to make his way to Yumi, though the other groups watched curiously. "I'll be fine Yoh. You should worry about who will be on your team for now. You know that me and 'Ame can take care of ourselves." his sister's warm words and soft smile calmed Yoh as she ruffled his hair affectionately. The next instant Zeke was standing on the woman's right, sending Yoh a glare that would have sent the boy back to his friends had it not been for his sister's hand keeping him in his place.

"What do you mean by recovering?" the fire shaman actually sounded worried about the elder woman. "I fell off a cliff. Now if you'll excuse us, we need to figure out how to divide the group." Mayumi's words made Zeke freeze as she ushered Yoh back to the group. The woman kept a smile on her face, however it was clear that she was very upset with Zeke and the pyromaniac had felt it in her tone and facial expression.

As she smiled and herded her group away from the main part of the village, Yumi knew that all eyes were on her. She was happy that her group was able to keep their questions to themselves until after they arrived at a secluded spot in the forest though.

"Alright, fire away guys." the woman returned her facial expression to neutral as the group looked at her in wonder. "You…you're different sis. I can't explain it, but you're different somehow." Yoh questioned with a confused expression, drawing nods and sounds of affirmation from the rest of the group. "I got my memories back as well as my full powers when I met with the King of Spirits. Before you say anything though, I was the one to request that I work alone. My powers work better if I'm by myself. And besides, it wouldn't be fair if I were on a team with you guys, there would be one odd person who would have to find another group." Mayumi explained easily, a warm expression making its way onto her face once more.

It took the group a minute to grasp what the eldest female was saying, and when they did understand it they were ecstatic. "So, does that mean that you can, like, give us all the info on our opponents! Will you be able to kick Zeke's butt back to the otherworld?" Trey was excited as he got up into Yumi's face first. The snow shaman was met with a hearty laugh. "I'm afraid that I will be unable to give you information on the shaman you will be facing, the only one I know is Zeke. And I cannot fight Zeke unless I am pitted against his team in the tournament." the woman answered honestly, though the boy was disappointed.

"Why didn't you request that Zeke be on his own team? That would have made more sense." Lenny commented, drawing everyone's attention. "That would have been counter-productive. If any of your teammates are killed then the entire team is disqualified. As long as Zeke has a team he cannot afford for them to be killed or disabled so he will be unable to unleash his full powers. This is why I requested that I be on my own team, so that I can focus on my opponent rather than my team." Yumi answered plainly, drawing nods of realization from the group.

"That makes sense. But what are your powers exactly Yumi?" Yoh asked curiously, looking up at his sister with pleading eyes. Mayumi chuckled lightly as she patted her brother's head. "You'll have to wait and find out. I won't give all my secrets away that easily, Yoh." the woman spoke in a warm tone, making Yoh pout before going back with his group to pick teams.

"I hope that you don't plan to get in Yoh's way, Yumi." Anna spoke in a dark undertone to the elder girl when the others were focused on the boys. "Don't worry, Anna. I don't plan on bonding with the King of Spirits. That is something that is reserved for Yoh." the elder woman reassured the dirty blonde as the boys separated into their groups. "Good." Anna huffed before rejoining the group as they headed back to their rooms.

Yumi smiled happily as she hesitated, looking around and sighing in a content manner. She finally understood what she needed to do. _'It will be nice to have Asaha with me once more, though there is still work to be done.'_ the woman thought to herself as she turned to follow the group through the forest and back to their rooms.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

The group had decided that the boys would get one room for each of their teams, the non-competitors would share a room, and Yumi would get a room to herself. Though they had been hesitant to let Yumi sleep alone for the fear of Zeke coming for her again, the woman assured them that she would be perfectly fine. Her brother wouldn't dare try anything now that he knew she had her full power back and she remembered everything.

But that didn't change the fact that Yoh snuck into her room in order to crawl into bed with his sister.

"Will you sing me to sleep again sis?" the boy asked pleadingly, just like he would when they were younger. "Of course Yoh, just close your eyes." the woman smiled as she began to sing softly to her brother.

_It's like a storm__  
__That cuts a path__  
__It breaks your will__  
__It feels like that__  
__You think your lost__  
__But you're not lost__  
__On your own__  
__You're not alone_

_I will stand by you__  
__I will help you through__  
__When you've done all you can do__  
__And you can't cope__  
__I will dry your eyes__  
__I will fight your fights__  
__I will hold you tight__  
__And I won't let go_

_It hurts my heart__  
__To see you cry__  
__I know it's dark__  
__In this part of life__  
__Oh it finds us all__  
__We're too small__  
__To stop the rain__  
__Oh but when it rains_

_I will stand by you__  
__I will help you through__  
__When you've done all you can do__  
__And you can't cope__  
__I will dry your eyes__  
__I will fight your fights__  
__I will hold you tight__  
__And I won't you fall_

_Don't be afraid to fall__  
__I'm right here to catch you__  
__I won't let you down__  
__It won't get you down__  
__You're gonna make it__  
__Yeah I know you can make it_

_Because I will stand by you__  
__I will help you through__  
__When you've done all you can do__  
__And you can't cope__  
__And I will dry your eyes__  
__I will fight your fights__  
__I will hold you tight__  
__And I won't let go_

_Oh I'm gonna hold you__  
__And I won't let go__  
__Won't let you go__  
__No I won't_

Just as always Yoh had fallen asleep around half-way through the song, but that had come as no surprise to Yumi as she gave his hair one final pat.

Singing. That was her power. It was odd to some people, but she could convey her Furyoku through her voice and when she sang it was at its most powerful. When she sang she let her emotions fuel the nature of her Furyoku, allowing it to alter her opponent's emotions and bodily motions. She could make them freeze in their tracks out of fear, fall to the ground out of exhaustion, infuriate them so that their motions were uncoordinated, or make them fall asleep. It was quite a useful tool, and she didn't even have to be near them. As long as her opponent could hear her, Yumi was able to influence them.

Over the years she was able to make it so that her Furyoku only influenced her intended target and not innocent bystanders. This required a little more concentration, but it was worth it so that her audience didn't fall asleep in the middle of her battle.

As she let herself fall into the comfort of slumber, Mayumi allowed a smile to cross her face. She was complete at long last.

_So I finally got my memories and powers back. Whoop-dee-freaking-doo. Yeah, remembering everything wasn't exactly the best experience of my life, but I feel better now that I know everything. And yet it still doesn't make me feel that much better about the way things are. Now I remember Asaha as my brother completely, not just bits and pieces, so it's hard to think of Zeke as the enemy. Good glory why does this have to be so flipping difficult! I guess that I'd better get some shut-eye, no telling what tomorrow is going to bring. Peace._

**Night: And here is yet another installment of the Crack Side story~**

The group was all but ready to call it a night when Yumi saw that Lyserg was looking a bit down. "What's up Lyserg? You look a little down." the woman commented as the group turned their attention to the green haired boy and his pink haired spirit. The dowser looked up at the woman with a surprised expression, almost as if he didn't think that she would notice. "You do look a bit troubled Lyserg. What's eating you?" Yoh looked like he was confused as he watched the other boy.

Lyserg looked at the ground, uncomfortable that the group had noticed his unease. "I…I don't know what it is…" the boy's voice was quiet as he spoke, unable to look anyone in the eye. Looking at the other boys, Yumi walked over to Lyserg and tried to get him to look at her. "Is there anything that we can do to help?" the female Asakura asked worriedly. Looking up into the woman's caring eyes, Lyserg looked away quickly.

"I don't even know why I'm upset so what could make it better?" the green haired boy answered shyly. There was a glint in Yumi's eye when she looked towards the other boys, who merely nodded before the woman burst out into song, startling the green haired boy to no end.

[[ **Yumi** _Yoh_ Lenny _**Rio **_**Trey** _**All**_ _All but Yumi _]]

**It's ****supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,**  
**Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious!**  
**If you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious,  
**_**Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!**_

_**Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay**_  
_**Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay**_  
_Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay_  
_Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay_

Because I was afraid to speak  
When I was just a lad  
My father gave me nose a tweak  
And told me I was bad  
But then one day I learned a word  
That saved me achin' nose

_**The biggest word I ever heard**_  
_**And this is how it goes,**_ **oh**

_**Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious**__**  
**__**Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious**_  
_**If you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious  
**__**Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious**_

_**Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay**_  
_**Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay**_  
_**Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay**_  
_**Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay**_

**He traveled all around the world**  
**And everywhere he went**  
**He'd use this word an all would say**  
**There goes a clever gent**

_**When Dukes and Maharajahs**_  
_**Pass the time of day with me**_  
_**I say me special word and then they ask me out to tea**_

**Oh **_**supercalifragilisticexpialidocious**_  
_**Even thought the sound of it is something quite atrocious**__  
__**If you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious  
**__**Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious**_

_**Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay**_  
_**Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay**_

**Now you can say it backwards which is ****dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupus**  
**But that's going a bit too far don't you think?**

**Indupid-uh**

**So when the cat has got your tongue**  
**There's no need for dismay**  
**Here-here!**  
**Just summon up this word**  
**And then you've got a lot to say**

**But better use it carefully**  
**Or it could change your life**

_For example_, **yes**, _one night I said it to me girl_  
_And now me girl's me wife, oh, and a lovely thing she is too_

**She's **_**supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,  
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,  
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,  
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!**_

The group had been dancing in a ridiculous manner throughout the song, surrounding a very shocked and confused Lyserg. Striking a pose so ridiculous that even Zeke and Marco laughed when they saw it, the group of one woman and four boys held their creepy, open mouthed smiles for a good five minutes while crickets could be heard in the background. Lyserg ended up blinking more times in the span of those five minutes than he ever would again.

What happened next would-

Green eyes shot open as a small boy in a white outfit bolted upright in his bed, mouth open in a soundless gasp of surprise and shock. Lyserg had tried to bury that memory deep within his mind for _months_ and it had finally worked up until that night. _'Why does that come back to haunt me even now?'_ the green haired boy let out a soft groan as he laid back onto the bed and closed his eyes, sleep coming back easily.

He had never wanted to remember the _real_ reason that he left Yoh and Yumi's group for the X-Laws, it was one of the most disturbing memories of his life.

**Mayumi: kekekekekekekekekeke~ Cx**

**Lyserg: -hiding under the covers of his bed whimpering-**

**Yumi: ...Cx**

**Zeke: Review people~ You know you want to! = w =**

**Yumi: The Songs in this chapter are:  
**_**Won't Let Go**_** - Rascal Flatts  
**_**Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious**_** - Marry Poppins**


	16. Training Day

Night: Sorry that it's been so long, my life got really hectic and I didn't have the time to update. But, I had been writing the story in my trusty notebook for when I got ideas and when I was bored in class. Sorry, but it's pretty much a filler chapter, but hopefully you guys like it~ ^w^

Yumi: So without further ado,

Yoh: Night doesn't own_Shaman King_

Yumi: But she does own me and 'Ame so please don't steal us~

Night: Hope that you guys enjoy~ -hands out 'thank you' cookies to those who reviewed-

It had been a few days since the group arrived at Dobi Village, and the boys had already had two fights while Yumi hadn't had one. _'So the King of Spirits is letting me recover some more is he? How nice of him. Except that he knows that I was completely healed when he sent me here!'_ brown eyes darkened dangerously as she watched Zeke obliterate his opponents.

So maybe the darkening of her eyes wasn't just from the fact that she hadn't had a fight yet, the fact that Zeke had just killed all of his opponents would be her reason. Sighing as she stood from her seat above the stadium, Yumi and Ryoushiame eased themselves back down to the ground outside the stadium and began to make their way to the outskirts of the village.

The woman hadn't hung out with the boys since they arrived in the village, her excuse was the since they were on different teams she needed some space. But that was far from the truth. Mayumi was putting herself through some tough training to get her body back up to her old power level and she could not be distracted. Part of the reason was because she was honing her ability to control who her voice affected, if she was practicing her death song then if she didn't have complete control and someone walked by she could kill them unknowingly. That was one of the major drawbacks to her powers, if she was around a group then she had to be really careful who she was affecting with her voice and what song she used.

Ryoushiame had been helping her a lot, advising her to the tones in her voice as well as giving her reminders on the words that sometimes slipped her mind. While before she had regained her memories Yumi had relied on songs that had been produced by modern artists, now she remembered most if not all of her old arsenal of songs that she had created herself. Granted she used one of her mother's songs to sing people to sleep peacefully, but that was the only one that she used that was not her own.

Sighing to herself with her hands in her pockets, Yumi looked up towards the cloud-scattered sky as she walked out of Dobi Village. _"Something is troubling you Yumi, what is it?"_Ryoushiame's spirit ball form hovered above his mistress's left shoulder as she walked, following her gaze to the sky.

"I don't know 'Ame. Yoh and the other's aren't getting stronger, and I would go so far as to say that they don't stand a chance in this round if they don't start training in a different way." the woman's words were quiet as she spoke, though her unease was loud and clear for the gryphon ghost.

The pair was silent for the rest of their trip to the cliff that Yumi used for her training, but the silence was not awkward, but rather a comforting silence that they both enjoyed. Stopping at the edge of the cliff with closed eyes, Yumi took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before snapping her brown eyes open once more. "Time to start training." as the words exited her mouth, the feather clip that held Yumi's bangs out of her face began to glow.

That was when the woman's eyes zoned out and she began to sing.

"_Yumi, you are going to have company so I suggest that you stop your training for now."_ Ryoushiame's words snapped Yumi out of her zoned out state and she immediately became aware of the group of Furyoku headed their way.

"Thank you 'Ame. I think that I'll wait here and meet the boys. It's been a while since I saw them and I think that I've finally got this down pat." the trademark Asakura grin was plastered on Yumi's face as she spoke.

"I TOLD YOU THAT WE ARE BETTER THAN YOU!"

"NO! WE ARE BETTER THAN YOU!"

It was with those phrases from Lenny and Rio respectively that Yumi's smile was wiped off of her face and her eardrums were blown out.

"Do you have to try and kill me every time you see me?" Yumi groaned, holding her head in her right hand while glaring somewhat humorously at the boys.

"YUMI!" if she hadn't been expecting Yoh to tackle-hug her Yumi would have fallen over the edge of the cliff.

"Hello to you too Yoh." chuckling as she recovered, the woman walked herself and her brother over to the other boys, Anna, Morty, Jun and Bai'long, and Mikihisa.

"It is good to see you again Yumi. And I'm glad that you're better now." the masked man's voice was warm as he spoke.

"Mistress Yumi! You must agree that Team Asakura is better than Tem Len!" Rio was in the woman's face almost instantly after he realized that she was there.

"How absurd! Team Len is far superior to Team Asakura! Yumi knows this, correct?" Len retorted angrily. Before the pair could begin fighting again, however, both were knocked on their heads by the female Asakura.

"From what I've seen of the fights neither of these teams will make it through. I take it that father brought you boys out here for some training?" the woman's voice was harsh as she spoke, and knowing when she looked over to Mikihisa.

All of the boys looked shocked at Yumi's words, though Mikihisa nodded his head. "You are right, Yumi. The boys were about to have a practice match. Would you like to watch?" the masked man's voice had a humor in it that Yumi easily picked up on.

"Sure, I'll watch. I'm done with my training for now anyway." with those words the boy's eyes lit up, well except for Faust, he didn't care either way if she stayed. So, standing next to Morty and Anna, Yumi stayed to watch the practice fight.

"So, did you see Zeke's fight today Yumi?" Morty tried to make small-talk while the teams came up with their strategies.

"Yes, yes I did Morty." the sigh that came out of the woman's mouth said that she was still upset about Zeke killing his opponents.

"I can't believe that he killed them!" Morty grumbled angrily, but one could see that he was sad too.

"Honestly, I can believe that he killed them. It doesn't mean that I like it, but I'm not surprised." the spectators for the practice match glanced at Yumi in a surprised and shocked manner at her words though understanding could be seen in their eyes too.

"Even still…" Morty's words were cut off as the two teams executed their strategies. And once their strategies were revealed, Yumi almost fell over in a mixture of annoyance, disappointment, and a hint of anger. But she couldn't say that she was completely surprised to see that both teams had used the same strategy. When the boys began to 'fight,' Yumi could only sigh in frustration with her head held in her hands.

"They're not using their heads…" the woman groaned quietly just before Mikihisa broke the fight up with Imari and Shigaraki. It was sad that all the small spirits had to do was run all over the giant spirits before spirit control was lost.

Yumi didn't say a word as Mikihisa instructed the boys to write on their grain of rice, instead she took one for herself. On the grain of rice, the woman wrote the name of the person that she held dearest. When the others tried to read it, they found that it was written in old Japanese so they could not comprehend what it said.

"What does it mean sis?" Yoh asked, confused as to why she didn't use modern language.

"The name does not matter, let us get on with the exercise." Mayumi's voice was stern, this was not something that she wished to speak of at the moment.

Mikihisa watched his daughter for a moment before nodding in understanding, stopping further questions by walking to the cliff edge. And by proceeding to toss the grains over the side into the wind the father received some yells of astonishment from the boys. While the masked man told the boys to find the rice grains, Yumi and Ryoushiame went into Spirit Fusion. Spreading her wings, Yumi took flight and began to expand her Furyoku, searching for her grain of rice.

It was far too easy, as the woman found it within three minutes. But she had expected to find it quickly, as she had done something similar before with Asaha. Before she would search for each of the other boys' rice grains, Yumi took a moment to look at her writing on the rice grain. 'Ame was silent as his Shaman clutched the grain in her hand tightly before taking off once more to pinpoint the other rice grains.

Finding the locations of all of the boys' rains wasn't difficult either. With the sharpened vision of Ryoushiame, Yumi could see the rice easily. Adjusting her flight, the woman began to descend to the place where the boys were currently searching and the non-competitors were observing.

"I expected you back quicker my daughter." Mikihisa spoke unemotionally as the woman landed and came out of fusion.

"I went to locate the other grains. Plus I was in no hurry." the female replied, bouncing her grain in the palm of her hand. Nearly everyone's faces were filled with shock at the woman's words, but a glare from Anna was all that it took to get the boys moving once more.

A good amount of time went by before Team Asakura's oracle bells began to ring. It was only after they found out who their opponents were that another bell could be heard ringing.

"Team Avion, huh? Sounds like it will be quite interesting." the voice that pierced the silence was none other than that of Mayumi as she looked down at the green oracle bell on her left forearm. So she was finally going to get a fight, and it sounded like the King of Spirits put her up against a team against bird-type Shamans. An interesting fight it would be indeed.

"Sis, how are you going to win a three-on-one fight? That's crazy!" Yoh exclaimed, rushing over to his sister with a worried expression.

Smiling softly, Yumi ruffled her brother's hair in comfort. "You don't need to worry, Yoh. I'll be just fine, I promise." the woman spoke softly as she took her little brother into a hug.

After a moment the pair separated and left with Team Asakura, leaving Team Len and Mikihisa behind to continue their training.

Mayumi would force Yoh to sleep with his team that night, singing them all to sleep so that she could go back to her room and get some sleep for herself. "What song will you sing tonight sis?" Yoh asked as his head laid back on his pillow, Yumi sitting on the edge of his bed. Rio was in the other bed closest to the door and Faust was lying at the foot of the beds on the floor, his head closest to the window.

Smiling, the woman closed her eyes and began to sing softly.

"_I hear your voice on the wind,__  
__And I hear you call out my name,__  
__Listen my child you say to me,__  
__I am the voice of your history,__  
__be not afraid come follow me__  
__answer my call and I'll set you free!_

_I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain,__  
__I am the voice of your hunger and pain,__  
__I am the voice that always is calling you__  
__I am the voice,__  
__I will remain._

_I am the voice in the fields when the summer's gone,__  
__The dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow.__  
__Ne'er do I sleep throughout all the cold winter long,__  
__I am the force that in springtime will grow._

_I am the voice of the past that will always be,__  
__Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields.__  
__I am the voice of the future!__  
__Bring me your peace!__  
__Bring me your peace and my wounds,__  
__They will heal._

_I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain,__  
__I am the voice of your hunger and pain.__  
__I am the voice that always is calling you,__  
__I am the voice!_

_I am the voice of the past that will always be,__  
__I am the voice of your hunger and pain.__  
__I am the voice of the future!__  
__I am the voice,__  
__I am the voice!__  
__I am the voice,__  
__I am the voice!"_

As always, all three of the boys were asleep before the woman could finish her song. Mayumi sighed softly as she swept a lock of her brother's hair out of his face. She had been working on that song for a long time, she just had forgotten it once she had been brought back to life. All of the boys had knocked out after she sang _"I am the force that in springtime will grow."_

The part of the song after that line was the part that she had come up with in the few days since she had regained her memory. She had taken the tune from a song that her mother had sung when she was little. She hadn't sung it in a long time, and she was hoping that she wouldn't live her mother down in this lifetime.

Placing a kiss in the center of Yoh's forehead, Yumi silently left the boys' room and headed for her own.

It didn't take her long to reach her room, but when she did the woman knew that she was not alone. "Zeke, you are not welcome here and you know it." the woman's voice was strong as she spoke, turning away from her door and facing the open window where her other younger brother sat.

"Now Yumi, is that any way to talk to your little brother?" Zeke's smile would have been sweet and melted the elder woman's heart had it not been for the fact that he had killed his opponents earlier that day.

"Any brother of mine wouldn't have killed their opponents in cold blood. I expected better of you Zeke." the woman's words conveyed her disappointment, sadness, and her anger. The boy on her windowsill was still and silent after hearing his sister's words, looking out over Dobi Village in silence as neither of them moved so much as a muscle.

"And here I thought that you would understand what I am trying to accomplish, Yuki. But it seems as if I were mistaken." before the male could even finish his second statement, he found the pointed tip of Yumi's bo staff at his neck.

"Zeke, you have no right to call me by that name. Only Asaha has that right. Now get out before I decide to kill you here and now." Yumi growl was dangerously deep and her eyes promised to follow through with her threat.

"Very well, sister, I will leave. But you haven't seen the last of me. Though I will say one thing, I never meant for you to fall off of that cliff. I am truly sorry and I'm happy that you have healed completely." with that said, the boy was gone in a small spiral of flames.

Yumi lowered her weapon and sat on the edge of her bed, silent as she looked out over Dobi Village. The look of hurt and sorrow that had been in her brother's eyes had reminded her of one time in her previous life when Asaha had wanted to pet a snake and she had taken the bite. She sported a bandaged left hand for nearly a month before the wound went away. Asaha had never forgiven himself for that, and even after the wound went away she still caught him looking sorrowfully at her left hand.

'_Dammit, I can't lose my resolve now. This isn't Asaha anymore, this is Zeke. The brother that I had in my previous lifetime would never take the life of a fellow human unless there was no other way for us to survive. I will not crack now when I've come so far.'_ Mayumi growled softly, placing her bo staff next to her bed along with her pack before climbing into bed herself.

As her head hit the pillow, Yumi sighed. Tomorrow would be interesting, the woman was looking forward to having her fight at last. She had been waiting to test her abilities against live targets, and now she was going to get that chance. Smiling softly and putting all thoughts of Zeke and Asaha out of her mind, the woman hummed herself to sleep and wouldn't wake until the morning rays would peek through her window.

Night: For anyone who wants to know, that song that Yumi sang is called_I Am The Voice_by Celtic Woman. You should totally listen to it, it's amazing~ xD

It was a rare day off and the group was enjoying the peace and quiet within the Asakura household. Yoh's parents and grandparents were out of the house, so they left Yumi and Zeke in charge. With the boys outside messing around, the girls lounged in the back room where Yumi and Anna could keep an eye on the boys through the back window to make sure that they weren't causing much trouble.

Yumi sighed, stretching as she woke up from her short nap. Looking around to see what had woken her, the woman found Opacho poking her side and proceeding to point at Anna, who was staring out the back window.

Tilting her head to the side in confusion, the female Shaman followed her future sister-in-law's gaze and had to grin. The young girl was staring at Yoh as he laughed with the rest of the guys as they messed around in the grass.

By this time, June, Pirika, and Tammy had noticed the blonde's staring as well as smiled knowingly.

The eldest female stood and walked over to Anna, placing her hand on the itako's shoulder before speaking.

"You know, Anna, it's really cute how you stare at my little brother. You really love him don't you?" Yumi smiled with the trademark Asakura smile when Anna looked up at her with a glare.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Yumi. Yoh and I are engaged, there is nothing more between us than that." Anna's response was surprising to the girls, as they could all see that Anna was clearly head over heels in love with Yoh.

"What do you mean by that, Anna?"

[[ _Anna_ Yumi Yumi/Opacho/June/Tammy/Pirika_All_ ]]

"_If there's a prize for rotten judgment,__  
__I guess I've already won that.__  
__No man is worth the aggravation.__  
__That's ancient history, been there, done that!__  
_  
Who'd ya think you're kidding!**  
**He's the Earth and heaven to you,**  
**Try to keep it hidden,**  
**Honey, we can see right through you!**  
**_(Oh no!)_Girl, ya can't conceal it,**  
**We know how ya feel and**  
**Who you're thinking of!_(Oh)_**  
**  
_No chance, no way!__  
__I won't say it, no, no.__  
_  
You swoon, you sigh**  
**Why deny it, uh-oh**  
**  
(Ah)_It's too cliche__  
__I won't say I'm in love_(Oo)_I thought my heart had learned its lesson__  
__It feels so good when you start out__  
_(Ah)_My head is screaming get a grip, girl__  
__Unless you're dying to__cry your heart out_

_(Oh)_You keep on denying**  
**Who you are and how you're feeling**  
**Baby, we're not buying**  
**Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling**  
**_(Oh no)_Face it like a grown-up**  
**When ya gonna own up**  
**That ya got, got, got it bad_(Whoa)_**  
**  
_No chance, now way__  
__I won't say it, no, no__  
_  
Give up, give in**  
**Check the grin you're in love

_This scene won't play,__  
__I won't say I'm in love__  
_  
You're doin flips read our lips**  
**You're in love**  
**  
_You're way off base__  
__I won't say it_(She won't say it now)_  
__Get off my case_(Shut up, shut up)_  
__I won't say it__  
_  
Girl, don't be proud**  
**It's O.K. you're in love**  
**  
_Oh__  
__At least out loud,__  
__I won't say I'm in love_**  
**(Shoo-do, shoo-do, shoo-do, shoo-do, sha-la-la-la, haaa)_"_

As the girls finished singing, Anna realized what she just did and her face went tomato red.

The other female occupants of the room couldn't stop smiling.

The blonde itako stormed out of the room muttering curses and threats to kill the other girls if they ever said a word.

To this day, Yumi, Opacho, June, Tammy, and Pirika, still give Anna a hard time and laugh whenever she is caught staring at Yoh.

Night: -smiling evilly-

Anna: …-death glares everyone laughing-

Zeke: Don't forget to review~ ^w^

**Yumi: The Songs in this chapter are:  
**_**I Am The Voice**_** - Celtic Woman  
**_**I Won't Say I'm In Love**_** - Hercules**


	17. The Fight And A Breakdown

Night: Sorry that it's been so long guys! TT^TT

Yoh: Yeah, Boss Lady's been stuck trying to write out_**someone's**_fight scene...-looks pointedly at Yumi-

Yumi: Hey, at least she_**wrote out**_my fight scene. Since_**someone's**_fight scene was so pathetic she could barely stand to watch it.

Yoh: -sulks in his corner with Rio and Faust-

Night: Now Yumi, he will get it eventually. -pats the boys on their heads-

Yoh&Rio&Faust: We will!? -starry eyes pleading-

Night: Not that I'm going to tell you how of course, you have to figure that out on your own.

Yoh&Rio&Faust: -goes back to their sulking corner-

Zeke: Night does not own_**Shaman King**_.

Yumi: She does own me and Ryoushiame though, so DON'T STEAL US! xD

All: Enjoy!

Night: OH RIGHT! -hands out cookies to all of the Reviewers, subscribers, and followers- I LOVE YOU GUYS! ^w^

Mayumi Asakura and her Guardian Spirit Ryoushiame could be found meditating atop the dome that Yoh's fight would take place in. Her own fight would be in the same dome but would be held a half-hour after Team Asakura's fight. The woman could only hope that her brother's team would be able to fight better with Mikihisa's training, as poorly as they had preformed the day before Yumi hoped that they had picked up something. The stands began to fill up slowly as the pair continued to meditate.

The woman exhaled slowly, clearing her mind of any thoughts that could distract her from her upcoming match. She wasn't worried about losing, not in the slightest. But if she needed to sing, she didn't want to be distracted by a stray thought and influence the innocent people watching. _'I probably won't sing though. Don't want to reveal my full power in my first match.'_ Yumi thought to herself, opening her chocolate brown eyes to gaze upon the now-filled stands. _"It will soon begin."_ Ryoushiame spoke to his shaman as an official entered the ring and called for the teams to enter.

"This shall be interesting." Mayumi commented as Team Asakura entered the arena.

_-After the fight-_

To say that the woman was disappointed with Team Asakura's performance would have been a complete understatement. Mayumi was completely disappointed and saddened that the boys hadn't caught onto the training. _"They will get it in time. Now let us prepare for our own fight Yumi."_ 'Ame spoke gently to the woman sitting cross-legged at the edge of the dome. Yumi nodded, silent as she got to her feet and made her way down to the staging area she had been assigned to.

A moment later the eldest Asakura sibling was standing in a staging area with Silva. "I wish you luck in your match Mayumi Asakura, Ryoushiame Bravewing." the male spoke softly as they heard the crowd roar in anticipation of the upcoming match. "You know we do not need luck. But thank you for your gesture, Silva." Yumi smiled kindly at the Patch Official. Returning her smile, Silva opened the door that would lead her to the arena.

Light flooded the woman's vision as she casually walked into the arena, the opposing Team Avion having rushed in and was now rallying the crowd. Once all of them took their places the Patch Official explained the rules, rules that they had all heard before. Loss of spirit control means you're out. Last one standing is the winner. Try not to kill you opponents. "Good luck Shaman fighters! And may the best team win! Begin!" immediately following the call to begin, Spirit Control was formed on both sides.

"Ryoushiame, into the bo staff." the bo staff became engulfed with dark blue Furyoku, though there were no eyes, beak, or wings because Yumi was not finished. "Spirit Fusion!" since she had restarted her training, 'Ame had re-introduced their type of Double Medium. After placing whatever Furyoku they would not need for Spirit Fusion into the bo staff, the pair would then perform the Fusion. It gave her the reflexes and abilities that she gained with her normal-sized fusion along with the range and power of her weapon. Though Yumi's favorite part was the fact that her appearance tended to freak the hell out of her opponents.

Team Avion consisted of three men in their mid-twenties to early-thirties and their Guardian Spirits looked quite silly in their large forms. There was an Osprey, a Crow, and a Mockingbird, quite the lineup that looked hilarious when they were scared. "W-what are you!?" Yumi couldn't tell which one spoke, and she really didn't care either.

Bluish-gray wings flared before quickly carrying Yumi up to block out some of the sun, making the men squint.

This was going to be a little too easy if these men fell for that old trick. By getting to them to look at the sun, Yumi would blind them for a moment, giving her time to make her attack. The woman shook her head in a disappointed manner before she began to move to attack. Tucking her wings in close to her back, she dived towards Team Avion at an angle where they would have to keep squinting in order to try and see her through the bright sun.

Gripped in her right hand was her bo staff, the Furyoku that surrounded it swirled in a vicious manner as Yumi readied herself to attack the trio below her. When she deemed herself to be close enough to be able to land an attack on the men and their Guardian Ghosts, Mayumi beat her wings in order to circulate the dust below her opponents' feet and called out her attack.

"Grand Cyclone Storm!"

The already swirling dust soon turned into a small cyclone that enveloped all of Team Avion, blocking what little visibility they still had since they were still squinting up at Mayumi's form against the sun. It was only after the mini cyclone enveloped the trio that the woman swung her bo staff, releasing the Furyoku that had surrounded it in a concentrated form that would make solid contact with her opponents and their Guardians.

A loud explosion rocked the stadium as the attack made contact, though Yumi's face remained emotionless as she landed gracefully in the same spot that she had first taken off from. The Patch Official watched closely as the dust settled, waiting to see if the three fighters had lost their Spirit Control or if they were still in the fight.

When the dust did settle, it would reveal the sight of three unconscious Shaman. They weren't overly injured, but they were indeed unconscious and no longer had Spirit Control.

"Team Avion has lost their Spirit Control, therefore the winner of the match is Mayumi Asakura!" the crowd went wild as the Official made the call, the eldest Asakura sibling sighed as she released her own Spirit Control before going over to the fallen Shaman Fighters. The three men were beginning to come around and it was not necessary for the medical staff to carry them off of the battlefield.

Once the woman got to the three men, they flinched away in slight fear of her prowess. "You all put up a good fight, I wouldn't have fought that seriously if I didn't think that you were worth the effort. I'm glad that I was able to fight with you all today." Yumi smiled in a truly friendly fashion, extending her right hand as a sign of peace to the men before her.

After a moment of shock, the leader of the group grinned and shook the woman's hand. "It was an honor to go up against one as strong as yourself! We wish you the best of luck in the rest of the tournament Mayumi Asakura!" the man laughed as he spoke, the woman helping him to his feet as he did so. Yumi merely nodded with a smile at his encouragement, glad that there were no hard feelings between them as they went their separate ways out of the arena.

As she exited the arena, Mayumi glanced up at the roof of the stadium to see what remained of a small pillar of flame before it vanished into the air. She had known that Zeke was watching her fight, he wanted to see if she had regained her full strength or not. _'Though I'm sure that he knows I won't use my full strength against these opponents. Even Yoh and the others couldn't stand against me as I am now if they combined their strength. But the longer that I keep them in the dark about my true strength, and who I__really__am, the better. Hell, even Zeke doesn't really know who I actually am anymore.'_ the woman thought to herself as she exited the stadium to be greeted with the streets of Dobi Village once more.

The moment that she got out onto the streets of Dobi Village, the woman was glomped by a blur of brown hair and orange headphones. "That was _awesome_Yumi!" Yoh spoke excitedly from his position holding his sister in a hug. Not a moment later the rest of the group, excluding Team Len who were still training, walked up to the pair.

"Gee Yumi, did you have to make it look like you weren't even trying?" Morty whined as he walked up, pouting slightly as he watched people giving them a pretty wide berth after seeing the eldest woman's fight.

"Hehe, sorry Morty. I'm still getting used to having all of my powers back so I needed to at least fight like I meant it. Besides, those guys probably would have made it farther if they hadn't had to fight me. They have a good amount of Furyoku and they have strong bonds with their Guardians. I would have been insulting them if I didn't at least try during our fight." the woman grinned as she released her brother from the hug he had initiated.

"I guess when you put it like that it makes sense...but I still think you should have made it look like you couldn't just do that in your sleep." the short boy muttered, causing the woman to laugh and pat his head affectionately.

After a moment like that, the woman's eyes hardened and she turned to look at Team Asakura as a whole. "You're fight sucked boys. I'm disappointed." Mayumi's words cut the cheerful looks they had given her and left the three males sulking.

"I know...I'm sorry..." Yoh sulked, a cloud hanging over his head as he spoke.

Yumi sighed, glancing over at Mikihisa as he shook his own head before heading back out to check on Team Len. She knew that her father was disappointed, but she had already been through this with the boys. She had tried to get them to try and think differently with their use of their Furyoku, but it was just no use. _'They have to figure it out on their own, there's no use trying to spell it out for them.'_ the woman thought to herself as she followed the group led by Anna back to the Patch Café.

They passed the Lily Five on their way to a table, though Yumi ignored their small conversation with Yoh concerning their attitude towards winning their last fight. Mayumi was quiet as the boys wallowed in their self-pity, she wasn't about to step in and try to cheer them up no matter how much Morty tried to subtly hint that she should talk to them.

"Morty, before you elbow my arm again, know that they will have to figure out on their own what father's training is. I will say, however, that it is much like my training was." the woman sent a small glare at the short boy, grabbing his arm before he could elbow her again.

Yoh's look was questioning once his sister finished speaking. "I'm sure that using our Furyoku to keep us on our hands isn't what dad wants us to do sis." his words drew a sigh from Yumi before she shook her head and closed her eyes. Sometimes she just wanted to smack her little brother for being so clueless.

Not a moment later, the familiar sound of an Oracle Bell ringing echoed through the café. "Is that mine?" Rio thought aloud. "Another fight so soon?" Yoh questioned. "No that's not ours." Yoh, Rio, Faust, and oddly Morty, commented before looking at Mayumi. "It's not mine either." the woman stated after briefly glancing at her Oracle Bell.

Then a loud cheer, which almost knocked Yumi over, came from across the Café. _'Looks like the Lily Five got themselves a fight, wonder who their opponent is?'_ the woman thought to herself as she, Anna, and the boys looked over at the celebrating girls.

"So who are we fighting?" the little one asked the blonde.

"Let me see, we're fighting Team Star!"

That was when all of the blood in the woman's body froze. She didn't start freaking out like Anna and the boys, but the look of horror and shock on her face was equal to the looks the others had.

As the girl's laughed, Yumi was thinking hard. She knew that they wouldn't forfeit, and she knew that if they fought Zeke he would not hesitate to kill the three of them that would fight. _'The boys care about these girls, and I won't just sit here and watch as they get themselves killed.'_ the woman thought to herself as Yoh caught the girls' attention.

"Please tell me you did not just say your opponent is Team Star?" Rio stuttered as he sat backwards in his chair.

"Yeah it is! And so what?" the little one acted tough as she stood in her chair.

"You poor lovelies!" Rio cried in his depressed tone.

"Why's that!?" the little one asked again, annoyed that the group was worried about them.

"Team Star is...is Zeke's team!" Yoh stuttered out finally.

"Zeke's team? Zeke's team...AHHHHHH!" the girls spoke together before they finally realized who their opponent was.

A moment later, the girls were arguing with the guys that they were going to make history and defeat Zeke. They stormed out a moment later, leaving the group standing in shock. Well, Yumi was still sitting down with her back to the girls, but she sighed in frustration.

She couldn't interfere with their match, and she refused to ask Zeke not to kill them. _'He would probably pull a stunt and say "if you join me I will spare them" or some crap like that. Though I know he wouldn't keep his word. There is no talking to that man.'_ a sigh escaped Mayumi's mouth as Anna said they would do nothing, but she knew that Yoh was going to try.

The group stayed in the Café for another hour or so, finishing their lunch before the boys headed back out to the desert to look for their rice grains.

After another unsuccessful day, the two teams got to head back into the village for some rest.

It was the first night in their trip that Yoh hadn't asked his sister to sing them to sleep, and the woman knew in her heart what her brother was going to try and do. So, when Yoh snuck out of his room that night, Yumi followed him silently.

She was not going to let her brother talk to Zeke without some kind of back-up. Yumi knew that Zeke was planning on taking Yoh back into his body, and she was not going to let that happen even if she had to kill Zeke herself. It would pain her greatly to do so, but if it meant saving the world, so be it.

The woman stayed in the cover of the shadows of the trees as Yoh walked out into a clearing, masking her presence so that neither Yoh nor Zeke would know she was watching their conversation.

Yoh shouted for Zeke to show himself, and the pyro indeed came out along with the Spirit of Fire and Opacho a moment later. The conversation was one-sided from the moment that Zeke appeared, and Yoh didn't gain anything from the conversation but the knowledge that Zeke would definitely kill the girls during the match.

"You might want to go shopping for tomb stones, and you might want to pick up some extras because your friends won't be around for much longer either." Zeke's next words finally made Yoh snap as he cried out and slipped into a fighting stance.

"Maybe next time okay? Try not to be a stranger, brother. I look forward to spending lots, and lots of time with you and with my sister." with those words, Zeke vanished into a ball of fire and left an upset Yoh in the clearing.

The boy's fighting spirit faded and he slipped out of his stance, Amidamaru appearing at his Shaman's side in the next moment questioning if Yoh was alright. "No, I'm not. I can't believe that I messed everything up and made things worse for the girls. We have to do something!" Yoh was upset with himself as he spoke to Amidamaru. _"Yes, we do. But what? This is bad."_ Amidamaru's words echoed Yoh's thoughts, Yumi knew.

The woman sighed from her position leaning against a tree in its shadow. She knew that she couldn't interfere, if she did then the King of Spirits would be upset, and Zeke would know that she did something and would confront her again. Only if he did then she would not be able to avoid fighting him, and she promised the King of Spirits that she would not fight her brother unless it was an official fight.

As Yoh entered the tree line, the woman decided to make her presence known.

"There is no reasoning with him, Yoh. If there was I would have done something years ago." the boy jumped slightly hearing his sister's voice come out of nowhere.

"How long have you been here Yumi? And I have to do _something_!" Yoh defended himself in a determined manner as the woman pushed herself off of the tree and walked over to him.

"I followed you out of the hotel Yoh, you can't fool me. I don't blame you for trying either, brother. I know that you're trying to help them." Yumi spoke softly when she got closer to her brother.

"I...I have to do something! I just don't know what! Can't you help me sis? You're better at this stuff than I am!" the boy sounded like he was on the verge of tears as he spoke, his grip on his sword tightening so much that his knuckles were turning white.

Yumi sighed, placing her right hand on her brother's shoulder, forcing him to look at her instead of the ground. "I know you do, Yoh, but I can't help you. The King of Spirits won't let me interfere even though I desperately want to. If I was able to interfere then I would have stopped Zeke from killing his opponents today. I am much like the Patch Officials in that way." the look in her eyes was kind, understanding, and helpless as she looked into Yoh's desperate ones.

"You will figure something out, just like you will figure out the rice training. You have to open your mind, Yoh, trust your instincts, and focus. I know that you will figure something out." by this point Yoh had already buried his face in his sister's shoulder, and his shoulders were making small shudders.

"B...but what if I...what if I screw it all up? What if I _can't_? Then what do I do?" Yoh's voice was cracking as he tried to sound strong, but Yumi just held him tighter and allowed him to break.

"Then I will be there to pick you up, and your friends will be right there beside you. It's okay to doubt yourself, Yoh, but remember that you don't have to shoulder this all by yourself. You have others here to help you, you aren't alone." the siblings stood there in the shadows of the trees, one releasing the pressure that he had been feeling since he started out on this journey, and the other just holding him and allowing him to feel protected.

It was about twenty minutes before Yoh had cried himself to sleep, and Yumi merely sighed as she picked him up and made it back to her room in record time. She placed her brother on her bed and pulled the covers over them both before falling asleep with Yoh clinging to her for dear life.

It had been a long time since Yoh had broken in front of her, but it was long overdue this time and Yumi was going to make sure that her brother knew that he didn't have to shoulder the weight of the world on his shoulders alone anymore.

'_You had better be ready, Zeke, Yoh is going to defeat you, and you won't know what hit you when he does.'_ the woman thought to herself before she drifted off to sleep.

Night: It's time, once again, for the Crack Side Story! xD

"I'M SO FREAKING BORED!"

"SHUT UP TREY!"

"OW!"

The Aniu sprouted a large bump on his head from Len, Yoh, and Rio hitting him. The group had been away from the oasis for not even twenty minutes and the blue-haired boy was already pissing them all off.

Yumi wasn't far off from hitting the poor boy, but she conserved her energy for another time.

It was silent for another minute before Trey opened his mouth again, only to close it as the four dark glares in front of him threatened to shut him up permanently.

Another moment went by before an idea popped into Mayumi's mind.

"How about we sing to pass the time?" the boys looked at her like she was crazy.

Cocking an eyebrow at them, the woman shrugged. "Well, I'm going to sing to pass the time, if you guys want to join in, then you are more than welcome to."

And with that, Yumi began to sing.

[[ _Yumi_ Yoh/Len/Rio/Trey _**All**_ ]]

_Looking out a dirty old window.__  
__Down below the cars in the city go rushing by.__  
__I sit here alone and I wonder why?_

_Friday night and everyone's moving!__  
__I can feel the heat but it's soothing,__  
__Heading down, I search for the beat in this dirty town._

_Down town the young ones are going!__  
__Down town the young ones are growing!_

_We're the kids in America._ (Woah!)  
_We're the kids in America._(Woah!)  
_Everybody live for the music-go-round!_

_Bright lights the music get faster.__  
__Look boy, don't check on your watch, not another glance.__  
__I'm not leaving now, honey not a chance._

_Hot-shot,__(Shot!)__give me no problems.__  
__Much later baby you'll be saying never mind.__  
__You know life is cruel, life is never kind._

_Kind hearts don't make a new story!__  
__Kind hearts don't grab any glory!_

_We're the kids in America._ (Woah!)  
_We're the kids in America._ (Woah!)  
_Everybody live for the music-go-round!_

Nah na na na-nah na nah,**  
**Nah na na-na-nah, kusay!**  
**Nah na na na-nah na nah,**  
**Nah na na-na-nah nah!

_Come closer, honey that's better.__  
__Got to get a brand new experience,__  
__Feeling right.__  
__Oh don't try to stop baby.__  
__Hold me tight._

_Outside a new day is dawning.__  
__Outside Suburbia's sprawling everywhere.__  
__I don't want to go baby!__  
__New York to East California!__  
__There's a new wave coming I warn you._

_We're the kids in America._ (Woah!)  
_We're the kids in America._ (Woah!)  
_Everybody live for the music-go-round!_

_We're the kids!__**  
**__We're the kids!__**  
**__We're the kids in America!_

By the time that the song was over, all of them were skipping and laughing happily, Yumi was especially grinning and laughing.

"See! I told you that singing passes the time!" the woman grinned happily. It was only then that the boys realized that they had fallen for her trap.

"Now then, ANOTHER!" the woman yelled before they all broke into song once again.

Yumi: -grinning like a mad woman- Fun times~

Yoh: Even then they were wrapped around your finger.

Night: And you weren't Yoh?

Yoh: I've been wrapped around her finger since I was_**born**_!

Night: True, true.

Yumi: ^w^

All: Remember to review! And see you next time!

Night: ...I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner...I will really, really try but I promise nothing!

**Yumi: The Songs in this chapter are:  
**_**Kids In America**_** - Jimmy Neutron**


	18. Fights, Old Friends, and Foreshadowing

**Night: So, here we are again~**

**Yumi: As promised, she didn't make you wait as long this time! xD**

**Night: Yep, this one was a bit easier to get out~**

**Yoh: Night doesn't own **_**Shaman King**_**.**

**Yumi: She does, however, own Ryoushiame and me.**

**All: Enjoy!**

* * *

When Yoh woke up the next morning, he found himself in his sister's room. Looking over at Mayumi's sleeping face, the boy couldn't help but wonder how she could cope with everything that had been going on.

'_She deals with so much better than I do, and yet she still looks like she is under no stress at all. I wish that I could be more like her.'_ Yoh's eyes saddened as he sat up in his sister's bed. While he was grateful that she had remained with him through the time that they had together, the teen couldn't help but wonder why Yumi hadn't gone back to be with Zeke.

His twin was Yumi's first brother after all, and Yoh knew that his sister had a very strong bond with the pyromaniac. He didn't know what he would have done had he been in her situation, but Yoh was pretty sure that he would have wanted to be with his family, no matter if they were good or bad.

So, as he quietly got up from Yumi's bed, Yoh vowed to make sure that Yumi and Zeke made up. The boy knew that his sister believed that her younger brother Asaha was still in there somewhere, and he would help her get her brother back.

As he walked out of the room, the thought crossed Yoh's mind that he wouldn't mind having a brother either.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

Brown eyes opened slowly soon after Yoh left the room, and a sigh escaped slightly parted lips. Mayumi had sensed the sadness in her youngest brother as he had looked at her. She had been awake for a while, but had been content to just lay there until Yoh left. Yumi knew that she would not be able to help Yoh that morning as he went to stop the Lily Five from fighting Zeke, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

The woman knew that if she had been up when Yoh left, he would have wanted her to go with him, so she had pretended to be asleep. Now with Team Len and her father out training and everyone else following Yoh to stop the Lily Five, Yumi was left to herself to think.

She would show up at the fight arena to 'watch the fight' a little later to show that she had no part in stopping the Lily Five. If she didn't show, then Zeke would most definitely be suspicious and he would no doubt pay her an angry visit.

Another sigh escaped Yumi's mouth at the thought of Zeke, she didn't know what to do with him anymore. She still wanted Asaha back, but somewhere in the depths of her mind she knew that Zeke and Asaha were one in the same.

The woman sat up in her bed, staring blankly at her sheets before peering out the window to see the rising sun. Ryoushiame was silent as his mistress watched Yoh and his friends walk away from the housing that had been granted to them by the Patch Tribe.

Once the group was out of sight, Mayumi closed her eyes and sighed again. She may have made it look easy to go on not interfering with Zeke and his doings, but it was extremely difficult for her to not just confront her younger brother. Especially when she knew that, if given the chance, she could wipe the floor with Zeke.

'_Well, maybe not "wipe the floor," but I have a better shot than most Shaman here.'_ Yumi thought to herself as she swung her legs over the side of her bed while still looking out the window.

"Let's go 'Ame, we have a fight to watch." with that, the woman gathered her things and the pair left for the arena.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

The time for the two teams to enter the arena came and went. Silva gave the Lily Five's team ten minutes to show before he would declare Team Star the winner by forfeit.

Ten minutes went by, and the girls never showed.

'_It's good to know that Yoh was successful in stopping them. I'm proud of him.'_ a sense of relief washed over the woman as she saw Zeke grow angry. The male's gaze moved around the stadium seating to the roof where Yumi sat, his eyes narrowing when he saw her sitting there looking bored.

'_I had nothing to do with it. Pull your briefs out of your ass.'_ Yumi sent the thought Zeke's way, hiding her smirk as a surprised look crossed his face.

'_So now you speak to me through your mind. I will never understand you sister. He made the wrong choice, you know that.'_ Zeke's voice entered the woman's mind as the stands emptied.

'_Did he now?'_ with that final thought Yumi slammed the connection shut and, ignoring Zeke's shocked face and attempts to speak to her again, stood from her seat at the edge of the arena roof. Turning on her heel, the woman and her Guardian Ghost headed down to the dusty ground and headed to the training area where Team Len's training was currently being supervised by her father.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

Later that night, the group was gathered around a table at the Patch Café. Smiles were on the faces of both teams, each of them fingering their grain of rice that was on the table in front of them.

Yumi smiled at the sight of all six of the boys and their rice grains, she knew that they would all find their rice. _'Even if they have no idea what it means. But I guess that the just understand unconsciously. Not that it surprises me any.'_ the woman's thoughts accompanied a laugh that joined the conversation at the table.

Anna, Pirika, and Jun had all agreed that the boys deserved a feast for finding the rice grains. Sure Anna had needed a little convincing, but after Yumi told her that they would just work off any extra fat the girl agreed hesitantly. Now the boys were gouging themselves on food that they had been deprived of for the past few weeks.

Even the Lily Five had joined in the fun, and Yumi was very happy that they had been stopped by Yoh. The boys cared about the girls a lot, and it would have killed them if the girls had been able to fight Zeke.

The woman didn't stay long with the group, she had heard through the grapevine that the X-Laws were going to be fighting a group from Zeke's crew in the morning, and she wanted to be there for it.

"_More like you make Silva tell you the match-ups for the next day. For someone who claims to be keeping her nose out of things you are certainly keeping yourself informed Yumi."_ Ryoushiame commented to his mistress as soon as they were in the privacy of their room.

"You know why I do what I do Ryoushiame, don't try and play dumb." Yumi grumbled half-heartedly while she flopped down onto her bed. She grunted as her body hit the thin mattress, cursing the Patch and their cheap ways.

The gryphon sighed as he watched his Shaman begin to drift off to another night of nightmare-ish dreams. She had not been sleeping well ever since the King of Spirits granted her memories back to her. Most of her memories were being replayed over and over while she slept, and the bad ones were getting more frequent.

Yumi had insisted that she keep these dreams of her past to herself when Ryoushiame suggested talking about them with Yoh or Anna. The gryphon felt helpless as he watched his mistress got torn apart from the inside as she helped her brother and his friends.

He knew that she cared about Zeke, a lot, and she didn't like going against him like this. But he knew that she knew that if she didn't go against Zeke, then the world as they knew it would be destroyed. And Yumi would not stand for that.

So, even though it tore her apart from the inside, Yumi just gritted her teeth and braced herself for the pain and suffering that this entire ordeal would cause her. Through her, Ryoushiame was tearing himself up inside. He knew that there was nothing that he could do in order to help his Shaman, all he could do was sit back and watch.

In the next few minutes, Yumi was asleep. From the look on her face, 'Ame could tell that the dreams had started already. The woman would never make sounds in her sleep, but her facial features were a tell-tale sign that she was dreaming. Ryoushiame sighed once more as he settled in for the night, watching over his Shaman as she grimaced in her slumber, and awaited the sun's return so Mayumi's nightmares could once again cease.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

The next morning was an early one, and Yumi made sure to wake the boys in order to go watch the X-Laws and Team Reservoir's fight. _'With their opponents being a part of Zeke's group, the X-Laws won't hold back. I wouldn't be surprised if someone dies today.'_ the woman thought to herself as she dragged the six boys along with her to watch the fight.

"Why do I even have to come? I don't even have business with these guys!" Joco complained as the group walked to the Canyon Venue.

"You made it your business when you joined up with our group, Joco. Deal with it." Yumi cast a glare at the comedian over her shoulder. The boy stuttered a little at the irritation in the woman's voice and, for once, said nothing more for the rest of the trip.

The rest of the group was silent as well, Yumi had informed them that Lyserg was on the X-Laws' team and they weren't really taking it well.

All of them, save Joco, were concerned for their former companion. His sudden join-up with the X-Laws had been unexpected and had left them feeling hurt and betrayed. Rio was taking it especially hard.

It wasn't long before the group of seven got to the Canyon Venue and claimed a spot on one of the cliffs. Neither the official nor the two teams had shown up yet, but the surrounding area was already filling up with Shaman spectators.

Another ten minutes crawled by before Silva showed up along with the X-Laws' team and Team Reservoir. Both teams were sending the other dirty glares and the occasional threat. The first thing that Yumi noticed was that team X-Law only had two members, Marco and Lyserg.

'_So Jeanne isn't making an appearance? Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?'_ the woman's eyes narrowed as she thought while the two teams and Silva got set up on the field.

As Silva introduced the two teams, each team threw threats at the other once more. Only this time, Silva questioned team X-Law as to where their other member was.

Marco's answer irked the woman. _'It's like he thinks of her as a Goddess or some higher-power. She's human just as the rest of us are, she can and will die someday. Though whether that be natural or not is not my place to say.'_ Yumi thought to herself as the two teams readied to fight.

"Did you what Lyserg said? "Our Justice will smite you!" Is he for real?" Trey imitated the green-haired boy's speech from his spot on the cliff.

"I am afraid so." Rio's answer was depressed as the group watched Silva raise his arm.

'_And so it begins again.'_ the woman thought to herself as she watched the two teams go at each other.

Though, Mayumi's focus on the fight before her was cut as she felt another fight happening not too far away from the arena. The boy that had been stealing peoples' Guardian Ghosts and his two protectors were in a fight with Zeke and two of his more powerful followers.

The woman's eyes closed as she felt the two fights going on at the same time, both were so one-sided that it was nearly overloading her senses.

"_Mistress Mayumi, please calm down, you're starting to get the attention of the other Guardian Ghosts."_ Ryoushiame whispered from his place on the woman's shoulder. Opening her eyes again after taking a deep breath, Yumi glanced around and noticed that Amidamaru, Bason, and Kori were giving her strange looks.

Mayumi gave a small, warm smile to the three Guardian Ghosts, hoping that they would go back to watching the fight with their Shaman Partners. Kori, followed closely by Bason, closed their eyes happily before looking back over their partners' shoulder to watch the fight once more.

Amidamaru, on the other hand, was not so easily fooled. Glancing once more at the female Shaman, though, the samurai went back to watching the fight with Yoh.

'_Zeke wouldn't normally care if his subordinates were tampered with, so why would he go after that kid? Perhaps he sees him as a potential threat? He might have been testing the kid's strength?'_ Mayumi's thoughts halted, however, when she remembered one crucial fact about the Guardian Ghost thief.

He had tried to take Amidamaru away. He had tried to halt Yoh's process.

Because the thief tried to tamper with Yoh, Zeke was now stepping in and punishing the boy.

'_Zeke really doesn't like to have his plans tampered with. I can't do anything to save the boy without breaking my promise to the King of Spirits. Besides, even if I left now, I would already be too late.'_ as she thought those thoughts and pretended to watch the match, Yumi felt the three spirit hunters die.

Feeling another living being's death was always a...strange experience for the woman. It was an unexplainable feeling that she got whenever she was around death. There was nothing good about this feeling, and she knew that nothing good would come that day.

As she brought her attention back to the present fight in front of her, the X-Laws had already brought down Team Reservoir. With Marco going for the kill, Silva intervened and stopped the fight, claiming that Team Reservoir had lost Spirit Control and the fight was over.

With that, Marco and Lyserg exited the battlefield. As the blonde and green-haired pair walked past the group, Yoh asked Lyserg if the boy was even going to say hi.

"I have nothing to say to Zeke's twin brother! Never address me again Yoh! Never!" without even turning around, the green-haired kid was sounding more and more like an X-Law every day.

"How about the person who saved your life Lyserg? Or are you going to say that you'd have rather died than to be saved by me?" the comment that came out of Yumi's mouth made the entire group freeze, even Marco seemed to be at a loss of what to say.

Lyserg hesitated, but once Marco began walking again, the green-haired boy followed closely behind.

'_He truly is a lost cause. But I don't regret saving his life, no Shaman deserves to die at Zeke's hand, not even an X-Law.'_ the woman thought to herself as Rio called after Chloe and Lyserg desperately. Amidamaru made an off-hand comment about sensing danger approaching, and Yumi couldn't agree more with the samurai spirit.

A few hours later the entire group, minus Faust, Anna, Jun, Pirika, and Tamera, were back at the Patch Café for some snacks and cool air. Rio was still depressed about Lyserg, Morty was trying to cheer him up, and the other four guys were talking about how the boy had always been a little messed up.

Yumi just sat at a table by herself, thinking of many different things before getting up and walking out of the Café. She didn't want to be around Rio's crying anymore. They were all bummed that the green-haired kid had given in to his need for revenge, but that didn't mean that she had to be constantly reminded of it like she already was.

Sighing, the woman took to the rooftops and walked there to avoid the crowded streets of the village. Grabbing her green headphones from around her neck, Yumi placed them over her ears and pressed 'Play' on her iPod.

The song that came to her ears was a calming one, but a desperate one at the same time. It was a song that spoke to the very core of Mayumi's needs at that very moment.

Humming along softly with the song as it played through her head, Yumi continued along the rooftops. She wasn't really going anywhere in particular, she just needed to get her mind off of Lyserg and the X-Laws for a few minutes.

What she wasn't expecting, however, was to run into Kalim and Silva on her little walk. Pausing her music for a brief moment, Yumi listened in on the end of their conversation.

"I'm being summoned to the Council Office." Silva was looking at his Oracle Bell as he spoke.

"That is not good." Kalim's response let the woman know that he was not impressed with something that Silva did.

Yumi knew that Kalim was most likely not impressed with how Silva stepped between Marco and the fallen Team Reservoir after the battle was over. She didn't think that either was right, but she knew where Silva was coming from.

Resuming listening to the song on her iPod, the woman continued her aimless walking for the rest of the day. There were a few fights that she watched, but she didn't see the boys until she got back to the rooms that night.

"Where'd you go sis? I was looking for you but you were gone." Yoh looked questioningly at his sister as she walked in and plugged in her iPod to charge it for the night.

"I needed to walk around for a bit, take my mind off of certain events." nodding in understanding, Yoh turned out of his sister's room and headed back to his own. Though before he left he asked his sister if she would come by his room later, to which she merely responded with a wave of her hand.

About a half-hour later Yumi was in Team Asakura's room with Yoh, Morty, and a still sulking Rio.

Ten minutes went by with nothing but solid sulking from Rio. Just as Mayumi was getting ready to _really_ sing him to sleep, Chloe showed up and started acting funny.

"Lyserg's in trouble! Lets go!" Yoh called, grabbing his gear before making his way to the door.

What the boy didn't expect was for Yumi to remain seated with Morty.

"Yumi? Are you coming?"

"I have already saved Lyserg once, and I have yet to receive any thanks or acknowledgement from him. I'm not going to stick my neck out for him again Yoh." the words were harsh, but Yoh and the others needed to hear them from her.

The boys hesitated for a moment, Yumi's words sinking in for a moment before they finally got what she said, though Joco didn't understand at all since he hadn't been with the group at the time.

With that the group raced out of the room after Chloe, leaving Yumi and Morty to sit and await their return.

After a little small talk and later about a feeling of things not feeling right, the group returned with long faces. Morty and Yumi learned that Lyserg had abandoned Chloe for the X-Laws and that now he was completely lost to them.

Team Len then returned to their room and Team Asakura got into their beds, Yumi sitting by Yoh's at his request to sing them to sleep that night. The woman could not turn down her baby brother's request and soon after she sat next to Yoh's head she began to stroke his hair and sing her song.

_It's like a storm  
That cuts a path  
It breaks your will  
It feels like that  
You think your lost  
But you're not lost  
On your own  
You're not alone_

_I will stand by you  
I will help you through  
When you've done all you can do  
And you can't cope  
I will dry your eyes  
I will fight your fights  
I will hold you tight  
And I won't let go_

_It hurts my heart  
To see you cry  
I know it's dark  
In this part of life  
Oh it finds us all  
We're too small  
To stop the rain  
Oh but when it rains_

_I will stand by you  
I will help you through  
When you've done all you can do  
And you can't cope  
I will dry your eyes  
I will fight your fights  
I will hold you tight  
And I won't you fall_

_Don't be afraid to fall  
I'm right here to catch you  
I won't let you down  
It won't get you down  
You're gonna make it  
Yeah I know you can make it_

_Because I will stand by you  
I will help you through  
When you've done all you can do  
And you can't cope  
And I will dry your eyes  
I will fight your fights  
I will hold you tight  
And I won't let go_

_Oh I'm gonna hold you  
And I won't let go  
Won't let you go  
No I won't._

The boys had all fallen asleep in the middle of the song as was expected, and soon after she finished singing Yumi headed back to her own room for the night.

_I can't shake the feeling that tomorrow is going to bring something horrible. Though I hope that this is wrong, I'm not the only one that feels that something bad is coming. Hopefully everything will turn out alright._

* * *

**Night: Crack Time! xD**

* * *

After another long day of fights, though neither of them fought that day, both Zeke and Yoh were pretty tired. Of course, they didn't really know that the other was tired since they were on opposite sides of Dobi Village and they would have fought each other if they met.

Who was the one that knew they were both tired? That person was Mayumi. She had been watching her brothers all day, though neither of them knew of course, and had seen how exhausted they were.

So, she sang them both to sleep, separately of course since she couldn't be in two places at once.

But an interesting thing happened when she laid down to sleep that night. As she drifted off, she entered a dream that was not one of her memories, but a vision of two other dreams that were intertwined.

She saw both of her brothers singing, together, and they were happy.

[[ _Zeke_ _Yoh_ _**Both**_ ]]

_**I have often dreamed,  
Of a far off place,**_

_Where a great, warm welcome__**  
**__Will be waiting for me_

_Where the crowds will cheer__  
__When they see my face,_

_**And the voice keeps saying:  
"This is where I'm meant to be!"**_

_**I will find my way,  
I can go the distance!  
I'll be there,**__someday,__**  
If I can be strong!**_

_**I know every mile, will be worth my while.  
I would go, **__most,__** anywhere to feel like I,  
Belong.**_

The boys danced with each other while the soft music that had been playing in the background slowly got more intense and dramatic. Yumi was happy that, at least in this dream, both of her brothers were getting along and _she_ was the one telling them that they were meant to be in a place where everyone got along.

_**I am on my way!  
I can go the distance!**_

_I don't care how far!  
__Somehow I'll be strong!_

_**I know every mile, will be worth my while!  
I would go **__most__** anywhere,  
To find where I belong!**_

After their song ended, the boys slowly vanished from the dream-space, but they had smiles on their faced as they waved good-bye to each other. Yumi had no words that could do justice to the happy feelings in her heart at that moment.

But the tears of joy falling down her face would do the feeling justice enough.

The next morning, neither Yoh nor Zeke remembered their dream, but Yumi remembered it clearly.

She wouldn't say a word to them, but the joy of seeing them happy together in the dream only served to fuel her fire to get Asaha back.

Nothing would stop her now.

* * *

**Night: And there you have it!**

**All: Please hit that button and Review!**

**Night: See you next time! ^w^**


	19. A Rude Awakening

**Yoh & Yumi:: Hello everyone!**

**Night:: -waves at readers- Before we get started, I'm going to talk about some things real quick that came up in some of the reviews. Firstly, I will not be pairing Yumi with anyone at this time, if ever. I'm sorry, but I did not make this story for Romantic purposes, and if I tried to put her in a relationship it would simply take away from the story and it would seem forced. Besides, Yumi's older than Zeke, to put her with one of the boys would just be...weird... And though there will be references to canon pairings, they will once again not be the center of the story. This is not a "Romance" story, you should have seen that when you saw the genres under the title. If you really want one to read a Romance-centered story there are plenty on Fanfiction, this is not one of them.  
Secondly, after this chapter is posted I'm going to be going back and editing each chapter with a list of all the songs in that chapter in order and I will be doing so from this point onward. I realized that I had planned on doing so but I just forgot about that...sorry!  
Lastly, thank you all for your continued support with your reviews, follows, and favorites! I realize that I'm not the most consistent author on Fanfiction, and I really appreciate everyone who reads this! It's nice to know that my work is appreciated and I get so excited every time that I see there is a new review!**

**Yumi: : Wow Boss Lady, do all these heart-filled words mean that you're coming to the end of the story!**

**Night: : Good Heavens no! While we're getting close to the end of the anime I do plan on continuing the story after the ending of the anime! I just felt like saying that stuff~ ^w^**

**Yoh: : Yay!**

**Night:: So, with my rambling out of the way, please enjoy this chapter! (Hint, one of my favorite lines in **_**Shaman King **_**is in this chapter, can anyone guess what it is?)**

**Yumi:: And remember! Night does not own **_**Shaman King**_**, but she does own me and Ryoushiame!**

* * *

_Sleeping last night wasn't really a problem, besides the point that I had and still have this ominous feeling about today's events. I have a feeling that the X-Laws are up to something, but the fact that I have no idea what they are up to bugs me a little. I hate not knowing. The King of Spirits has felt a little off as well ever since last night. And the communication between the Council and the King of Spirits seems to have been cut off. I guess that only time will tell what will happen. Well, it's time for me to join the boys and Anna for lunch, I promised Yoh that I'd eat with them today._

'_And it goes exactly as I thought it would. Why did I put myself up to this again?'_ Yumi sighed as she and the others listened to Rio as he cried out for Lyserg over and over again at the table. The boys were trying in vain to try and get him to stop, but it just simply wasn't working.

Morty then made a comment that would attempt to change the topic of conversation, stating that the Café was packed so much it looked like they were giving food away.

"This isn't the only place that's crowded. Every restaurant and shop in town has more business than they can handle! It's because there are no Shaman Fights being held today." Silva commented from behind the counter. Yumi had to crack a grin at the apron he was wearing though.

"No fights?" Morty asked, he was a little confused and the comment from Silva had drawn some attention from the group.

"There were several disruptions in our communication systems earlier, and now everything has gone silent. Including the King of Spirits, and no one is sure what's going on." the Patch official's next comment drew a quiet sigh out of the Asakura female. So she had been correct after all, the King of Spirits had in fact gone silent.

"Great, the King of Spirits is giving us the silent treatment." Trey commented with a bored expression.

"I'm willing to bet that Zeke or those X-Law goons have something to do with it." Len's comment drew an annoyed look from Trey and they started to bicker. All the while Rio continued to lament over Lyserg.

"Hey I got it! Check this out Rio!" Morty exclaimed as he grabbed his laptop from his backpack.

"Hey, what do ya got there Morty?" Yoh's interest was perked, as was Yumi's, as they watched Morty start up his electronic device.

"I found this really funny website last night where these stick-men do kung-fu to this crazy music! It'll make Rio laugh! After all, finding stuff and cheering people up is what I'm good at!" Yumi smiled as she sipped her water, the kid sure knew how to make himself useful and help out when he was out of his element. For that she respected the little guy.

"Well let's see." Yoh commented with a straight face, though Yumi could see in his eyes that he really wanted something, anything, to break Rio out of his phase.

"Wah!" Morty's outcry cause a few raised eyebrows, though no one was really in the mood to jump up and do anything about it.

"Ah, what's wrong?" the energy-less question from Yoh only exemplified the fact that none of them were in the mood to have any energy.

"I don't know! It just shocked me then shut off!" the little guy kept trying and trying to get his laptop to work, but to no anvil.

"Dearly beloved, the laptop is dead." Trey's emotionless response was sighed out, he truly seemed like a deflated balloon.

"May it rest in peace." even Anna got in on it as she rang a little bell while Morty cried along with Tamora while putting his laptop back into his backpack.

Yumi let out a sigh, this depressing atmosphere was not what she had signed up for. She and Ryoushiame should have been training, but she had promised Yoh that she was going to eat with the group so she decided to simply grin and bear it as she took another sip of her water with closed eyes.

"Hey Rio where you going?" the squeak of a wooden chair on the floor signaled that the depressed Rio was leaving, and Morty still wanted to cheer him up.

"He just needs to be alone." Anna sighed along with the rest of the group as they watched Rio walk out the front of the Café.

"Yeah but, he's just so sad." the short boy looked torn, and Yumi nudged his leg from her seat across from him under the table. Cocking her head towards the door, the woman silently told Morty to follow what he wanted to do.

"Hey Rio, wait up! Hey Rio!" after grinning at Mayumi in thanks, Morty shot up and chased after the motorcycle Shaman to continue trying to cheer him up.

"I sure hope Morty can cheer him up." Trey spoke the thought that was on everyone's mind.

"Me too." Yoh commented as they all went back to eating their meal in silence.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

"_Yumi...Yumi...ake up...!"_

"Mmm...go away 'Ame...I'm trying to take a nap..."

"_MISTRESS MAYUMI PLEASE WAKE UP!"_

Groaning in annoyance and protest, the woman slowly opened her eyes.

Before here was darkness. Complete, and utter darkness.

"Ryoushiame!? Where are you!?" immediately awake, the woman called out to her Guardian Spirit as she quickly sat up.

"_I am here Yumi, it is just too dark for you to see me and your eyes have not yet adjusted. Though...I know not where we are, while you were napping something knocked me unaware and when I was again aware we were here in this darkness."_ the woman felt a brush on her right shoulder, signaling exactly where 'Ame was.

"I see. It's probably whoever had to do with causing the disruption between the Council and the King of Spirits. Are you up for a Spirit Unity? I think that I can hear yelling outside of wherever we are but I can't see a thing and it's taking too long for my eyes to adjust." in the time that she spoke her eyes had only just begun to adjust to the darkness, but she could only see a small outline of Ryoushiame's spirit ball.

"_Yes, the yelling just started a few moments ago. I am ready when you are My Lady."_ with that the Gryphon Spirit fell silent in his Shaman's hands and awaited her movements.

Within a moment Spirit Unity was formed and the world became a lot brighter for the pair. They could see the people yelling, but there was one frustrating thing.

They were trapped within a cage and it seemed as if they could see out but no one could see in.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me..." Yumi grumbled as she touched the glass-like substance that separated her from Yoh, the boys, and the X-Laws.

Morty was trapped in a body cage suspended above the ground by a chain being held by what looked like Lyserg's new Guardian Ghost and Yoh was walking towards a circle of ominous light. Quickly putting two and two together, Yumi figured that Morty had been captured by the X-Laws and Yoh was abiding by their wishes to set the little guy free.

"Damned X-Laws..." the woman ground her teeth in frustration as the punched the barrier, it wiggled a little but remained strong against her half-hearted attack. The next instant surprised her though, a spirit came out of Morty's backpack and smashed the cage.

'_Who would have thought the kid had enough Furyoku to do that? Though he probably did it unconsciously, I'll see to it that he gets trained. He won't be useless, I'll make sure of that.'_ a small smile found its way onto the woman's face as Rio caught Morty and the two groups set themselves up to fight.

That was when Jeanne decided to come out and end it, trapping the boys, excluding Morty, into a golden cage that sapped their Furyoku.

"Well shit...so this goddamned cage is probably a variant of the one that Jeanne used with the boys. Seems her spirit control is getting spread out." eyes narrowed as the cage containing the boys was brought over the center of the circle of light.

Taking another quick look around Yumi realized that her "cage," as she one thought it, was merely an cave in the side of a cliff overlooking the valley. The glass-like substance was a variant of Jeanne's spirit control, and it coated the insides of the cave walls, ceiling, and entrance.

As she studied the structure of the spirit control, there was a cruel laugh that cut into her thoughts, a laugh that Mayumi knew far too well. Looking out the front of the cave, the woman saw the Spirit of Fire with Jeanne in its right hand and Zeke standing in its left.

After an exchange of some words that Yumi couldn't quite make out, Jeanne burst into flames. The woman felt the Iron Maiden's spirit control waiver for a brief moment before taking hold once more so she knew that the girl was alive, but she wondered just for how long.

The silver-haired girl was dropped from the hand of the Spirit of Fire before the vines from her iron home surrounded her once more and pulled her back inside. Yumi was still a little annoyed that the girl wasn't letting go of her spirit control, with all that was going on wouldn't she want to conserve her energy? The woman just didn't understand people sometimes.

Moments later the X-Laws and Zeke's goons were at each other's throats and the fighting began to get one-sided, with the X-Laws merely protecting the Iron Maiden rather than seriously attacking their opponents.

"Jeanne if you can hear me, and I know you can, then do yourself a favor and let go of your spirit control before I break through it. You're doing yourself no good like this and your followers are getting their asses handed to them. If you know what's good for them then you will let me and the boys go. We can help you." moments went by after Mayumi spoke into the barrier, but nothing happened.

Grinding her teeth in frustration, the woman took a deep breath and let it out, telling Jeanne that she was give her five minutes to release her spirit control before she forced her way out. It wouldn't be difficult at all for her to get out, but she wanted to give Jeanne a chance.

Besides, the fact that the X-Laws kidnapped her while she was taking a nap was pissing her off.

Three minutes had gone by and three of the X-Laws lay dead in front of Jeanne's iron home.

That was the breaking point for the boys as they broke through Jeanne's spirit control, but Yumi remained where she was. Jeanne had two more minutes. Though she could now hear what was being said.

"Jeanne...no Jeanne!" Lyserg was pleading for the Iron Maiden to give them a sign that she was still alive.

"Wait! Remember the back-up plan!" Marco was the one who called to the X-Laws and a spark of light was lit in their eyes as they all glanced up to where Yumi was, though none of them could see her they knew she was there.

And they knew that Jeanne's spirit control had not been broken because the illusion was still up that it was just a sheer cliff face.

But it was too late, they had all but run out of Furyoku and Zeke's followers were rushing them once more.

Only this time the minions were blocked by the boys, minus Yoh who was confronting Zeke himself.

"One more minute Jeanne, I wonder if you'll do this the easy way or the hard way?" Yumi asked the girl as she stood from her sitting position.

As the boys began to fight Zeke's minions Yumi began gathering her Furyoku for a Giant Spirit Control, something that she hadn't done in a while but it caught people's attention and that was what she was going for.

When Yoh got caught by the Spirit of Fire, Jeanne's time was up.

"Ryoushiame! Giant Spirit Control!"

With those four little words, Mayumi Asakura broke through the Iron Maiden's spirit control.

Not a moment after that the Spirit of Fire had vanished in a blast of wind and Yoh was safely atop Ryoushiame's head with his elder sister.

The entire valley was silent as eyes looked up to the woman and her partner in a mix of fear, awe, surprise, and interest.

Mayumi's eyes were hard as she looked Zeke, his minions, and the X-Laws dead in the eyes before she spoke.

"May this be the last time that anyone takes advantage of me taking a nap."

* * *

**Night:: And now for the next addition to the Crack Side Story! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Are you serious!? I can't handle this! You know I've never done this before!"

"Don't you worry, I will take great care of you tonight."

"B...but I don't know if I can do this..."

"Is that really what you're scared of?"

"A...Anna forbade me from doing this...and Morty told me not to do it too...and Ponchi and Conchi keep telling me not to..."

"Are you serious!? My darling you must experience things for yourself! What does your heart want to do right now?"

"It...it wants me to go with you...but I'm scared..."

"Then take this, and come with me. I will not let you fall my sweet."

Tammy gulped as she took the helmet from Rio, her boyfriend of five months. He was asking her to go for a ride on his motorcycle with him to get to their date that night.

She had never been on a motorcycle before, and everyone said that Rio wasn't a great driver.

But he was her boyfriend! He would never do anything to hurt her! And now the pinkette was sitting behind her large boyfriend on his motorcycle as he started it up.

"You alright back there Tammy? Is the helmet radio working right?"

"I'm still scared Rio..."

"Then how about we sing a song before we start?"

"...Okay...you start though!"

Rio chuckled as he began to hum a tune before starting to sing.

[[ **Rio** _Tammy_ _**Both**_ ]]

**I can show you the world,  
Shinning simmering splendid,  
Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?**

**I can open your eyes,  
Take you wonder by wonder,  
Over sideways and under on a magic carpet ride  
A whole new world!**

**A new fantastic point of view!  
No one to tell us no, or where to go,  
Or say we're only dreaming!**

_A whole new world!  
A dazzling place I never knew,  
But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear,  
That now I'm in a whole new world with you_  
**(Now I'm in a whole new world with you!)**

At this point Rio had started to drive down the road and Tammy was relaxing, she was even beginning to have fun.

_Unbelievable sights,  
Indescribable feeling!  
Soaring, toppling, freewheeling,  
Through an endless diamond sky!_

_A whole new world!_  
**(Don't you dare close your eyes!)**  
_A hundred thousand things to see!_  
**(Hold your breath it gets better!)**

_I'm like a shooting star!  
I've come so far!  
I can't go back to where I used to be,_  
**(A whole new world!)**  
_Every turn a surprise!_

**With new horizons to see!**  
_(Every moment get better.)_

_**I'll chase them anywhere,  
There's time to spare,  
Let me share this whole new world with you.**_

**A whole new world,**  
_(A whole new world,)_  
**That's where we'll be,**  
_(That's where we'll be,)_

**A thrilling chase,**  
_(A wondrous place,)_  
_**For you and me.**_

By the time that the pair parked in the parking lot of the restaurant where they had dinner reservations, Tammy was singing at the top of her lungs and was actually enjoying herself.

"Now was that so bad my dear Tammy? I told you that Rio would take care of you." the tall Shaman gave his girlfriend his trademark grin as he helped her off of the bike.

"That was amazing Rio! I can't believe that everyone said you're a bad driver! I can't wait to go again!" now squealing from excitement, Tammy jumped into her boyfriend's waiting arms and they walked into the restaurant for their dinner.

On the ride home, when it was actually dark, Tammy got to see the reason why everyone said that Rio was a bad driver.

To this day, Tammy refuses to ride with Rio at night on his motorcycle.

Unless of course, he doesn't have his sunglasses on.

* * *

**Night:: Well, I hope that the Crack Side Story helps to satisfy those of you who want to see a little romance. I do love Rio and Tammy together~ ^w^**

**Yumi:: Here's a list of the songs in this chapter:  
Actual Chapter - None  
Crack Side Story - **_**A Whole New World**_** (Aladdin)**

**All:: See you next time! And remember to review!**


	20. The Plot Thickens

**Night: -waves at loyal readers-**

**Yumi: Welcome back everyone! =D**

**Yoh: -stares at his sister- You...you got **_**captured**_** while you were **_**sleeping**_**!?**

**Yumi: ...You will **_**never**_** bring that up again. **_**Do you understand me Yoh Asakura!?**_

**Yoh: O.O Yes! I understand you my dearest sister!**

**Nigh: -pats the siblings' heads-**

**Zeke: The Boss Lady does not own **_**Shaman King**_**, but she does own my sister and Ryoushiame.**

**All: Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The entire valley was silent for a solid minute before the X-Laws began to panic.

"How? No! If she's here then Jeanne is..."

"Give us a sign Jeanne! Please!"

Along with many other pleads and unfinished thoughts, the X-Laws continued to lament over the fact that they thought that Jeanne was gone because Mayumi had broken through the girl's Spirit Control.

'_Now this is just getting pathetic.'_ the woman thought to herself as Yoh stood up from his seated position on Ryoushiame's head.

"Uh, sis? What's going on?" Yoh's question caused a shadow to fall over Yumi's eyes. As the boy, and the rest of the people in the valley currently not lamenting over Jeanne, stared in mixed emotions at the woman, they noticed that she started to shake slightly.

"I was taking a _wonderful_ nap and woke up in a cave coated in Jeanne's Spirit Control. I decided to assess the situation first and let the X-Laws get their asses kicked around for a while because I wasn't too happy about getting moved from my napping spot. Once I had enough of watching this meaningless fighting I decided to step in. And Morty, you and I are going to be talking after we're all done here." the woman's speech got even the lamenting X-Laws to shut up as they realized just how utterly pissed off Yumi was. Zeke watched in interest as his sister spoke, and a small smile cracked his face as he started to laugh.

Gaze darkening and eyes narrowing even farther than they had been before, Yumi whipped her head to glare directly at the cloaked boy. She had nothing to say, however, as the boy just kept laughing his head off at his sister's misfortune.

Morty, on the other hand, was frightened beyond belief. He didn't know what Yumi had in store for him! Oh if only he hadn't gotten captured by Lyserg then none of this would have happened!

The rest of the boys were shell-shocked and beyond confused. Was Yumi planning on taking out the X-Laws for disturbing her nap or was she going to take out Zeke and his goons? What were they supposed to do if she was going to kill the X-Laws? None of them could stand against her and they knew it! She was stronger than Zeke!

That was when the lightning started to crack in the sky and the markings under all of their feet began to glow an eerie white glow. The X-Laws were ecstatic, they thought that Jeanne had dropped her Spirit Control in order to focus on the Babylon Gate and now it was ready to open. But Yumi knew that she and the boys had all broken out of the girl's Spirit Control, and the woman knew that she could have broken out a lot sooner if she didn't want to sit back and watch the show anymore.

In the next few moments, the tower that would lead to the Babylon Gate began to grow from the center of the glowing markings, the X-Laws protecting it and Jeanne with their bodies. Eyes remaining narrowed and darkened Yumi watched in silence as Zeke's goons attacked the X-Laws, who did nothing to defend themselves.

Once the tower stopped growing, the gate was opened by Jeanne's spirit.

Along with everyone else, Mayumi and Ryoushiame were sucked into the Babylon Gate.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

Yumi sighed from within the Gate, watching as the group before her marched along with their bodies decaying slowly in random places. Yoh cried out in the back of her mind for his friends to come to their senses and she knew that Zeke was gathering his followers up with the Spirit of Fire.

Sighing, the woman watched as the X-Laws continued to march along. Yoh not having the strength to save them and Zeke certainly wasn't going to do it. While she still wasn't very happy with them moving her while she napped, Yumi wasn't about to watch them wander off to a meaningless death.

Gathering them up onto Ryoushiame's back, Mayumi broke through the gate's illusion and stood in a white and gray fuzz along with her two brothers. Zeke laughed softly, drawing a glare from both of his siblings.

"The three of us are the only ones that are powerful enough to exist here, and you know what that means." the boy pointedly looked at Yoh as he spoke.

"Our destiny still awaits us. Let's get out of here shall we?" Zeke gloated as he broke through the Babylon Gate with the effort it took to lift a finger.

In less than another moment, the white and gray world went completely white as the gate was shattered.

When Yumi opened her eyes again she was standing on her cliff that she always trained at, watching as all of the people that had been in the gate fell from white pillars of light.

"_My Lady, what do we do now?"_ Ryoushiame came into being in his Spirit Ball form near his Shaman, having safely dropped off the X-Laws a moment ago.

"Now we go to the Shaman Council. Zeke's going to try for the King of Spirits, of that I have no doubt."

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

It took the woman far longer to get to the council chamber than she would have liked, but when she did get there she immediately sprung into action.

Mikihisa had just lost a fight with Zeke, and Imari and Shigaraki were about to be consumed by the Spirit of Fire. Mayumi was not going to allow her father's Guardian Spirits to be eaten by Zeke's spirit.

In a burst of speed, Yumi had both Imari and Shigaraki's burning forms in her arms in the doorway to the council chambers. The surprised looks that the woman got from the people in the room were nothing compared to the glare that she gave her younger brother.

"Mayumi, why am I not surprised. Fine. I will leave those pitiful spirits. But you cannot stop me from doing this!" with an annoyed look on his face, Zeke commanded the Spirit of Fire to do one of the most horrifying things that the woman thought he could have done.

The Spirit of Fire grabbed Mikihisa's legs, turned him upside down, and burned the man's legs until they were charred black.

"The next time that you all see me, I will have the King of Spirits by my side. Farewell!" with those parting words Zeke and the Spirit of Fire vanished in a pillar of flames, leaving a speechless room and a woman with tears forming in her eyes. She had managed to save her father's spirits, but she had been unable to save her father.

Setting Imari and Shigaraki down next to her father, Mayumi stood and walked over to Goldva with nothing but sheer determination in her eyes.

"Goldva, I need you to tell me where the King of Spirits is. I know that's where Zeke is going, I need to stop him." the Council Members and Goldva could see that the woman was serious, and they knew she would find her way even if they didn't tell her.

"Follow us, we will show you part of the way. But we shall all wait for Yoh and his friends before leading all of you to the Forbidden Forest." Goldva spoke before beginning to walk with the rest of the group following.

In a few moments, the group was at the crossroads that lead to the Forbidden Forest. Silva had gone back to retrieve Yoh and the others, but Mayumi was not satisfied with waiting.

"I understand your want to wait for Yoh and the others, but I need to go now. With Zeke no longer in the tournament I can take care of him, I am no longer bound by the rules." unclipping her Oracle Bell from her forearm, Yumi handed it to Goldva before turning and walking towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Please, Mayumi, my daughter, will you not wait for Yoh?"

"No, father, I cannot wait. You know why I can't."

With those words, the woman began her journey into the Forbidden Forest in order to stop her brother.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

"You have got to be kidding me."

Mayumi and Ryoushiame had been wandering aimlessly for a good half an hour before they heard the King of Spirits tell everyone in the Forbidden Forest that they couldn't be there.

"So he won't let me into the Sanctuary when I get here but he opens the door for everyone else once they get here. Thanks King of Spirits, that really means a lot." the woman grumbled as a white pillar of power jutted out of the ground in front of her.

"_I have no explanation for this My Lady."_ 'Ame commented as the pair headed towards the pillar.

"I didn't expect for you to have one 'Ame. Now then, let's go pay the King of Spirits a visit." with that Mayumi and Ryoushiame entered the Star Sanctuary and headed straight for the resting place of the King of Spirits.

~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~SK~

When the woman and her Guardian stepped out of the pillar of light, they were met with a voice.

"_Only the worthy may pass through the pillars. Prove you are worthy!"_

"You would think that the King of Spirits would put us down closer to him. Guess he thinks I need the exercise." Yumi grumbled as she and Ryoushiame began walking again.

As they passed through the pillars, the bird that spoke before landed on Mayumi's shoulder and rubbed her cheek before vanishing.

"_Or perhaps an old friend wanted to say hello."_ 'Ame snickered, drawing a small smile from the woman's face as she continued to walk forward.

A few minutes later, the woman and her Guardian Ghost were standing at the base of the gigantic pillar of power that represented the home of the King of Spirits. Sighing, the woman took a seat in the middle of the Circle of Totems. She had been sensing the battles within the Star Sanctuary ever since she and Ryoushiame exited the doorway, and she was hoping that Lenny would be alright.

"_He will pull through Yumi, the boys have always pulled through."_ the gryphon spirit spoke calmly to his shaman as she sighed once more with closed eyes.

"I know, 'Ame, but that doesn't mean I still can't worry over them." Yumi spoke as she opened her eyes, sensing Zeke, Opacho, and Morty at the pillars.

"Let's go 'Ame." the woman spoke as she stood and walked towards the large pillar of light.

Nodding in his Spirit Ball form, Ryoushiame followed his lady towards the pillar.

When Zeke, Opacho, and Morty would get to the Circle of Totems, they would not know that Mayumi and Ryoushiame had been there.

Nor would they know that the pair had entered the home of the King of Spirits.

* * *

**Night: Dun, dun, dun~ Bet you want to know why Yumi and 'Ame went in~ This chapter might seem a little rushed, I know, but Yumi didn't really have a part in any of the episodes that were mentioned in this chapter so I didn't want to stretch it out. On the bright side, we're getting closer to the part that I've been waiting to write since the very beginning of the story so I'm very excited! ^w^  
And before you say anything about me not explaining why the X-Laws caught Yumi, it will be explained in good time I promise.  
On that note, enjoy the next part of the Crack Side Story!**

* * *

It was another hot day in Dobi Village and Joco, Trey, and Yoh were all lounging around trying to keep away from Anna. The girl didn't care that it was a hundred and twenty degrees outside, if she caught Yoh and the others lounging she would force them to train.

The only one who seemed to be unaffected by the blazing sun seemingly inches from everyone's face was Yumi, but she and Ryoushiame were not bothering to hang around the group, not caring for the whining.

Finally Joco decided that everyone needed a laugh, and tried and failed with his trademark bad jokes that weren't really jokes. Though Trey was also getting tired of whining and was looking for something to do.

"It's so _hot_ guys..." Yoh complained with his face in the dirt.

"There has to be something that we can do to pass the time...dude this isn't even funny anymore it's so hot." Trey groaned from his seat next to Joco.

The trio had been left alone for the day. Everyone else, who wasn't crazy enough to train in this heat, was keeping inside and probably sleeping. Even the Patch Officials weren't out and about, with Goldva having taken pity on the Shaman Fighters and called off the fights for the day.

"Hey I have an idea!" Joco seemed a little more enthusiastic than the other two, but Trey perked a little at the suggestion.

"I don't know guys, I just want to lay here in my misery..." Yoh complained pathetically.

Trey and Joco looked at each other and then back at Yoh before bursting out into song.

[[ **Joco **Trey _Yoh_ **Joco/Trey** _**All**_ ]]

**Hakuna matata, what a wonderful phrase!**  
Hakuna matata, ain't no fashion craze!  
**It means no worries, for the rest of your days!**  
**It's our problem-free, philosophy!**  
**Hakuna matata!**

"Hakuna matata?" a confused look was on Yoh's face as Joco and Trey sang.

"Yeah! It's great! Join in if you want Yoh!" Trey grinned as he spoke before Joco began singing again.

**Why, when he was a young boy-child!**  
When I was a young boy-child!  
**Very nice...**  
Thanks!

**He found his aroma like a certain appeal,  
He could clear the room, ya have to have free meal.**  
I'm a sensitive soul, now I seem exscinded,  
And it hurt, that my friends never stood down-wind!

And oh the shame!  
**(He was ashamed!)**  
For the change in my name!  
**(Oh what's in a name?)**  
And I got down-hearted,  
**(How did ya feel?)**  
And every time that I-  
**Hey Trey, not in front of the kids!**  
Oh, sorry!

**Hakuna matata, what a wonderful phrase!  
Hakuna matata, ain't no fashion craze!**  
_It means no worries, for the rest of your days!_  
**(Yeah, sing it kid!)**

_**It's our problem-free-**_  
Philosophy!  
_**Hakuna matata!**_

"You guys were right! This is awesome!" Yoh was grinning as he and the other two boys laid on their backs in the dirt.

"Right? No worries!" Joco sighed happily.

"No Pirika," Trey sighed.

"No Anna," Yoh also sighed.

"No worries!" all the boys sighed as they closed their eyes.

**Hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna-**  
_It means no worries! For the rest of your days!_  
_**It's our problem-free, philosophy!**_

**Hakuna matata!** _Hakuna matata!_ **Hakuna matata,**  
(Hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna matata)  
**Hakuna matata,** _Hakuna matata,_ _hawooona matata, hakuna matata!_

"THERE YOU ARE YOU SLACKERS!" a shrill shriek shocked the boys out of their relaxed stupor and onto their feet.

"YOH ASAKURA GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE AND GET BACK TO YOUR TRAINING!"

"Dude, that sucks."

"I don't wanna go back to real life..."

"Remember guys, we'll always have hakuna matata."

"Yeah, hakuna matata." the three boys said it together before slowly walking back to reality.

They would never forget their time together on that hot day, and they would be frequently found humming the song that they sang.

* * *

**Night: And that's it for this chapter!**

**Yumi: Songs from this chapter and the Crack Side Story are -  
Chapter:: None  
CSS:: Hakuna Matata from **_**Lion King**_

**Night: Now remember to click that wonderful Review button! =D**


	21. Of Shock, New Powers, and Eye Glints

**Night: So here we are at the next chapter, yes the beginning doesn't match up with the end of the previous chapter but it will be explained later. Bare with me for now, I promise all will be known!**

**Opacho: -speaks while hugging Yumi- Night doesn't own **_**Shaman King**_**, but she owns Yumi and 'Ame so don't take them away!**

* * *

A flash of light faded away revealing to Yumi that she and Ryoushiame were once again standing in front of the pillars with the birds, she never really could pronounce the name of them.

"Really? This far away? Now I have to run again." the woman grumbled as she broke out into a dead run to get back to the Circle of Totems. Her short meeting with the King of Spirits had gone well, and now that he was safe she could focus on subduing Zeke alongside Yoh and the other boys.

Glancing up ahead, Yumi could sense Yoh fighting Zeke and hoped that the boy could hold out long enough until she could get there. Though the other boys as well as Anna were drawing close to the Circle of Totems so her youngest brother would get back-up soon.

But it was the feeling of Yoh's depleting energy that scared Mayumi the most. Zeke was done with the fight and was looking to end it. If she didn't get there soon then Yoh would die.

Pouring on more speed and pushing Furyoku into her legs, the woman forced herself to move faster. There was no time for her and Ryoushiame to perform Spirit Fusion, in the time it would take for them to do the Fusion the fight would already be over.

When Yoh's energy took another steep drop Yumi's heart leaped into her throat, there was no more time! She needed to get there _now_!

Legs pounding, arms pumping, and heart racing, Mayumi's eyes widened and tears pooled in them when she heard Anna's scream

When she was within sight of the Circle of Totems, Mayumi Asakura's legs gave out beneath her and she hit the dirt on all fours.

Yoh's lifeless body was in the arms of his fiancé.

The rest of the guys were standing around shocked.

Zeke was smiling.

Yoh was gone.

She was too late.

* * *

**Night: Ok how mean would it be for me to stop right there?**

**All Characters in Story: **_**KEEP GOING DAMMIT!**_

**Night: -snickers- Of course, of course. Now then, continuing with the story...**

* * *

The woman couldn't help but stare at her youngest brother's body as the boys began to fight Zeke.

Ryoushiame tried to talk to her and snap her out of her trance, but it wasn't working.

Even when Anna set down Yoh's body Mayumi wasn't looking away from her brother's body.

It was only when Morty and Yoh's body were almost hit with an attack and Silva moved them out to the edge of the Circle of Totems that the woman was able to hear her Guardian Spirit as he tried to get to her.

"_Please! Mistress Mayumi please listen to me! Yoh is still being absorbed by Zeke, you might be able to save him!"_ the Gryphon-ghost was speaking into his Shaman's ear so no one else could hear him.

Yumi glanced at her long-time friend, confused at what he meant. She wasn't thinking clearly, all she knew was that Zeke now had Yoh's spirit, and she wasn't able to save him.

Ignoring Ryoushiame's words, the woman got up and slowly walked to where Morty was kneeling by Yoh's body. Once she got to them, Yumi took Yoh into her arms and hugged his still-warm body.

"Yumi...is...is there anything you can do?" the small boy's voice was soft as he spoke to his best friend's sister.

"I...I don't know Morty." was the mumbled reply that the short boy got before he refocused on the fight with Silva and Kalim.

Mayumi vaguely heard Silva and Kalim telling the boys to calm themselves, to fight without their thirst for vengeance and knew that they were right. But she just couldn't bring herself to let go of her brother's body and yell at the boys and Anna to calm down.

When the Shikigamis turned on Anna and the pair of Patch Officials went to defend her, Yumi did look up from her death-grip on her brother's body. Zeke was going to take the King of Spirits, and the Shikigamis were now holding off the guys so the pyromaniac could focus on his main objective.

And those blue and red things were doing a very good job against the anger-filled Shaman.

"Oh man, look at them! They're totally out of control! What are they doing!? They're fighting for Yoh, but they're forgetting the way that Yoh would fight. They're not focused, they're not working together! Even Anna..." Morty was worried, and voicing his and Yumi's worries. The woman was about to open her mouth to speak when something happened.

"_Maybe you should remind them Morty."_ a spirit the woman recognized as Mosuke appeared behind them. In their time in Dobi Village, the woman had seen the spirit that had been Amidamaru's friend when they were both alive. The fact that he was residing in Morty's laptop was quite an irony the woman always though.

"Yeah...but how Mosuke?" the short boy was worried, but he didn't know what to do. Yumi had a feeling about what the spirit was getting to though.

"_Show them the way, you are ready!"_ seeing the glint in Mosuke's eyes, Mayumi knew that she had been correct in her assumption.

"Do you mean...?" Morty sounded shocked at the suggestion, but his Guardian Ghost spoke once more.

"_It would make Yoh proud. Just buy them some time, and remind them to focus. It's up to you Morty."_ looking to Yumi for a confirmation, Morty got a small smile and a nod. The woman was completely confident that the boy could handle Spirit Unity for a short time.

"Up to me, humph!"

It was interesting to watch the boy as he prepared for Spirit Unity, and it was something that Yumi would not forget. There was sheer determination in Morty's eyes, determination that Yumi knew would come in handy when she took him in for training after all this blew over.

"Mosuke, Sprit Form! Unity!"

The guys had all been blown back from the Shikigamis' latest attack, and Morty was able to get right up behind the red and blue pair and give them both good whacks with his hammer. With the shocked faces of the guys and Anna on him, Morty gave his speech about them and their anger.

"In case you haven't noticed, you guys are losing this fight! And unless you calm down and get a grip, we're all done for! I'm just as angry as you are but remember, anger doesn't get you anywhere! You've gotta fight with the love of Yoh in your spirit, not the hatred of Zeke! There's a difference, and you guys have come too far and gone through too much together not to know that!"

"You're right Morty." Anna all but cut the boy off as he showed signs of tiring. There was a small smile on her face as she saw the boy. Morty looked relieved as everyone visibly relaxed, but that was short-lived as he lost Spirit Unity and proceeded to pass out.

"NO! MORTY!" the boys cried out in horror as the short boy hit the ground and the Shikigamis began to get back up.

"Go Joco!" Len ordered the joker of the group hurriedly.

"I got 'em!" Joco exclaimed before speeding faster than the untrained eye could follow, grabbing Morty's unconscious form and stopping right in front of Anna. The girl carried Morty back to set him down near where Yumi was holding Yoh's body, casting the older female a worried glance as Yumi hadn't released her death-grip on Yoh yet.

"Morty? Hey, Morty!" the boy had started showing signs of coming around so Anna tried to rouse him more.

"Gah? Hey Anna...I'm pretty tired, Spirit Unity is pretty tough." Morty managed to get a few words out as he began to drift back to sleep.

"What you said about Yoh was right." the blonde itako had a smile on her face as she spoke to the short guy.

"Well thanks, I think I'll nap now..." and with that Morty promptly fell back asleep.

The guys then began to compliment Morty and come up with a plan with Anna. They noticed Yumi holding Yoh's body, but the itako ushered them away from her.

"She's in shock." Anna told the guys quietly when they questioned why Yumi wasn't fighting with them.

"Shock? What do you mean Anna!? We're all shocked too but we're fighting!" Trey exclaimed.

"No, Trey, her body is in shock. She tried so hard to protect Yoh from Zeke and now she was helpless to stop Zeke from taking Yoh's spirit away. Everything she's worked to achieve over these past few years just got blown away in an instant. Yumi's mental stability is wavering right now, she's clinging to Yoh's body to try and convince herself that not all is lost. But we all know that Yoh is gone." Anna spoke softly and in sadness, glancing at the other female who was holding Yoh.

"Shock is a horrid thing, but we must focus on Zeke for now! Anna, get those beads ready and we'll hold off Zeke!" Lenny exclaimed as he and the other guys headed off to fight Zeke.

In the next instant Zeke and the Spirit of Fire were showing off their power to the King of Spirits, and the barrier that surrounded the Star Sanctuary vanished, allowing them to be seen by those in Dobi Village.

The air was soon filled with the screams of the people, both Shaman and Spectators alike, who were now seeing that Zeke was heading for the King of Spirits.

But Yumi didn't hear the screams, she was focused on Yoh and Morty. Even after Morty's show and her confidence in him, she was still upset and unable to get to her feet and fight. Still though, she was beginning to think.

'_Morty fought, he...he fought bravely even though Yoh is gone from his body. The guys and Anna are fighting still, to beat Zeke for Yoh...what can I do though, I was useless to save him, they can't want a useless woman who couldn't even save her own brother.'_ the thoughts that coursed through Yumi's mind were filled with negativity, and Ryoushiame was silent. The Gryphon didn't know what to do, his Shaman had never gotten like this before, _ever_. And this was scaring him. So, all he did was wait and hope that the guys and Anna would find a way to defeat Zeke.

As the boys began to confront Zeke and Anna began to summon the one-thousand and eighty Asakura spirits, Ryoushiame and Yumi watched in hopes that they could defeat the pyromaniac once and for all.

As the ten-eighty beads bound Zeke and the Spirit of Fire and the guys put on their final attacks, Yumi was the first to hear Anna's gasp as the main bead began to crack.

In the next instant, the beads were nothing but tiny shards and the boys were crashing to the ground once more.

It had failed.

Their plan had failed.

Anna fell to her knees as Zeke berated her, saying that it would have taken one million and eighty beads to slow him down now.

Lenny and the guys got back up though, they still intended to fight with all of their being.

And from her place, clinging to Yoh, Mayumi heard a voice filled with static.

It was Amidamaru.

He was trying to get through to talk to Yoh.

'_He's...trying to talk...to Yoh? Wait, if Amidamaru is trying to talk to Yoh, then that means that Yoh might still be able to hear me even though his spirit is being absorbed by Zeke! That means...'_ a glint appeared in Yumi's eye, a glint that Ryoushiame hadn't seen in his Shaman's eyes for a very long time.

It was the glint that meant that Mayumi had a plan that she knew would work without fail.

It was the glint that made Ryoushiame feel proud of his Shaman.

And it was that very glint that made her such a strong woman.

Relaxing her body just slightly, Mayumi loosened her hold on Yoh and placed his head in her lap.

Closing her eyes, the woman took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before opening them again.

All this had caught the attention of the now-awake Morty, Silva, and Kalim, who were now looking at her curiously.

"Do not interrupt me, and please trust me." the woman's voice was strong and her tone was unwavering, just that caused the three males to nod curtly before watching what she would do next.

After all, if she was going to do this right, then Mayumi knew that she was going to need all the calm and concentration she could get.

So, closing her eyes once more and positioning one hand to run through Yoh's hair while the other rested on his stomach, Yumi began to sing.

* * *

**Night: And that, my friends, is where I leave you off. -fends off angry readers-  
****But now I bring you to the Crack Side Story (That may or may not have a hint in it for something in the near or far future, and the singer may or may not be the same gender as the one who sang it originally.)! =D**

* * *

It was a dark and cold night in the forest outside an unknown town in an unknown country, but one lone figure was hurriedly making their way into the dark woods and away from the town.

The figure was cloaked with their hood covering their head and shadows covering their face. It was impossible to tell the identity or even the gender of the figure as they escaped from the town and into the forest.

Animals that roamed the woods at night did not recognize nor pay attention to the figure as it made its way on foot through the darkness, though they scurried away from the cloaked figure if it came to near.

Once the figure was far enough away from the town, they slowed their progress but never once removed their hood, fearing that they may have been followed into the darkness of night.

It had been a frightening evening for the figure, they had been exposed for what they truly were and were unsure if their friends would accept them. So, in their fright, the cloaked figure had fled their companions for the solitude of the forest.

A small sigh escaped the hood of the figure, and they finally gave into their need to sing their feelings to the dark woods and its animal occupants.

[[ _Cloaked figure_ ]]

_The snow glows white on the mountain tonight,  
Not a footprint to be seen.  
A kingdom of isolation,  
And it looks like I'm the queen.  
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside,  
Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried._

_Don't let them in! Don't let them see!  
Be the good girl! You always have to be!  
Conceal, don't feel! Don't let them know!  
Well now they know!_

_Let it go! Let it go!  
Can't hold me back anymore!  
Let it go! Let it go!  
Turn away and slam the door!  
I don't care, what they're going to say!  
Let the storm rage on,  
The cold never bothered me anyway._

_It's funny how some distance, makes everything seem small.  
And the fears that once controlled me, can't get to me at all!  
It's time to see what I can do,  
To test the limits and break through!  
No right, no wrong,  
No rules for me!  
I'm free!_

_Let it go! Let it go!  
I am one with the wind and sky!  
Let it go! Let it go!  
You'll never see me cry!  
Here I stand, and here I'll stay!  
Let the storm rage on..._

_My power flurries through the air into the ground!  
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around!  
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast!  
I'm never going back!  
The past is in the past!_

_Let it go! Let it go!  
And I'll rise like the break of dawn!  
Let it go! Let it go!  
That perfect girl is gone!  
Here I stand, in the light of day!  
Let the storm rage on!  
The cold never bothered me anyway!_

Feeling a bit better now that they had let their feelings out in song, the cloaked figure continued on their way through the dark woods.

They didn't plan to head back to the town and their companions, but in the back of their mind, the figure hoped that their companions would seek them out. The figured still cared for its companions, but did not want to be shunned so had ran.

Letting out another sigh, the figure shoved the thoughts out of their mind and continued their journey in the random direction they had chosen in sweet silence.

* * *

**Night: You won't get anything out of me about the Crack Side Story's significance, so don't bother trying.**

**Opacho: The songs in this chapter are -  
Chapter:: none  
Crack Side Story:: Let it Go from **_**Frozen**_

**Night: Now, remember to review! As you can see by the shortness of time it took me to get this one out the next chapter should be out soon, but I make no promises. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!**


End file.
